Twist and Turn of Events
by TheVeryCheesyAuthor
Summary: Yeah right. Who are you kidding? I have a grandpa that's Albus Dumbledore, and a lot of best Friends. Harry,Kurama, Sango, Inuyasha, Miroku, Sesshomaru A.K.A Fluffy, and Hiei are the bestest of all! I'm Kagome Potter.Haha... And I am a First Year in this Hocus Pocus school named Hogwarts... Yay?Voldemort thinks I'm his...Wa? And Hiei and Inubaka is expelled for what? KagomeXKurama
1. Haha, right Hocus Pocus

Chapter One-Invitation

KAGOME

Ah! Such a wonderful day under the stupid blazing sun and the talking of Albus Dumbledore, or my FAVORITE grandpa, telling me to go to a Hocus Pocus School named HOGWARTS! No Sango!

I can't just tell her on the phone,

"Sorry Sango, I can't go to school since I have to go to this witchcraft and wizardy school. Im really sorry!"

First-year students will require:

Uniform

Three Sets of Plain Work Robes (Black)

One Plain Pointed Hat (Black) for day wear

One Pair of Protective Gloves (dragon hide or similar)

One Winter Cloak (Black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all student's clothes should carry name-tags at all times.

Books

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

Other Equipment

1 Wand

1 Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set of glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set of brass scales

Students may also bring an Owl OR a Cat OR a Toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS.

Broomsticks, Hmph.

I already know everything about fourth year stuff, even though I'm a First Year. All grandpa's fault, and I'm a PureBlood, I think, thanks to my family. I don't care if I'm a Blood Traitor... I hope I have a real friend not fan guys.

I aparated attached to Grandpa, laughing and crying as I said farewells, at the same time Sango called, saying she couldn't go to school... Problem solved!

TO THE LEAKY CAULDRON, I grinned, when Dumbledore had an urgent note, an then gave me two hundred galleons. Hehe!

16 hours ago...KURAMA POV

" MOM THERE'S AN OWL KNOCKING ON THE WINDOW!" I yelled, knowing it was from Aunt Minerva McGonagall.

"Honey, it must be for going to that Wizard School, Hogwarts." My mom told me.

Hopefully I'll finally have a real friend, not just fan girls

The letter required-

First-year students will require:

Uniform

Three Sets of Plain Work Robes (Black)

One Plain Pointed Hat (Black) for day wear

One Pair of Protective Gloves (dragon hide or similar)

One Winter Cloak (Black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all student's clothes should carry name-tags at all times.

Books

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

Other Equipment

1 Wand

1 Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set of glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set of brass scales

Students may also bring an Owl OR a Cat OR a Toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS.

"Hey Mom? Will you-" I asked

" Huney, I'm sorry but I won't be able to go with you because of some circumstances. Okay, Honey? Here's the key to going to the Gringotts bank, don't freak out if you see ugly midgets, those are goblins. To get your wands go to Ollivanders. Better get going honey! Love ya!" she answered without looking.

I took the plane and flew.

KAGOME POV

I started walking to the 'wall' and tapped this block, that block... Pfft! So confusing. At that time, I saw a red head male next to me, with gorgeous confused green eyes.

"Hi there! My name is Kagome Higurishi. What's yours?" I chirped, secretly spreading my demon senses as I discovered that he was a Silver Kitsune. Using my Miko Abilities, I saw he was a spirit of that Kitsune, but he was supposed to be asleep for two WHOLE years. He smelled like beautiful roses...

Kurama POV

A beautiful raven haired girl was leaning toward me, as I breathed in her scent. She had an aura like a Kitsune, with a tint of ice, and miko.

She smelled like fresh grass...

"My name is Shuichi Miniamino, I prefer my friends to call me Kurama." I said

"I kind of lost... New friend!" Kagome exclaimed as the wall moved to an arch. We walked in, and quickly got our stuff. Leaving our two things left, pets and wands.

Kagome POV

As we stopped at a pet shop, I ran in and exclaimed," HOW CUTE!"

I pointed at the fox, Which was pure black with white feet and white tail tips. Next to it, was a silver fox with red tips. Kurama seemed to agree and got interest in the other fox. We paid for our foxesthe shopkeeper saying," It bites and growl at everyone, except you two. This one, pointing at mine, is a female. This one, pointing at Kurama's, is a male.

I laughed and ran out, naming my fox, Raven. Kurama named his fox Youko(I think to know why!)

NEXT STOP! OLLIVANDER's Wands!

KURAMA POV

I really Don't know how Kagome is so happy! She's always so chirpy.

"Come on, we're here!" Kagome giggled at me, dragging my hands.

I blushed, I have NEVER been held in the hands before by a female my age.

We walked in, and a misty old man walked from the back and said,

"Wand arms."

A magical enchanted tape took our measurements as Mr. Ollivander took some Wands to us.

We went through everyone possible, until we found found Twin Wands.

Mine- 11 inches , Phoneix Feather, Made from the Inuyasha tree (Goshikabu?)

Hers-Same except 9 and 1/2 inches.

"Have a nice day~ It'll be twenty galloens total~" Mr. OLLIVANDER dreamily said.

2 days later on the train KURAMA POV

"Wow I can't believe it! We Have Twin Wands!" Kagome sang as we boarded the trains.

Ever since two days ago, we told about our history and family, and everything possible. Then, we became best friends, I'm surprised she let me see her form.

She was a silvery white kitsune, but her aunt was an ice maiden. She had black tips from her grandma, and silver from her mom. She never knew her dad.

Just then, as we Walked into supposedly empty compartment, Hiei walked in. Wait, WTF! HIEI!

"HN. Fox." Hiei said in a way of saying," Wtf Kurama. She's a KITSUNE! WERE ALL INSANE AHHHHH!"

"Hello Hiei, this is my Best Friend I made in two days, Kagome Higurishi." I introduced Kagome to Hiei.

Automatically, Kagome hugged Hiei and said," I'm sure we'll be great friends!"

"HN. I'm a Third Year."

You could Hear Kurama's Jaw droooopp!

HIEI POV

Interesting Kitsune. Has right measures, colorful vocabulary. She is quite beautiful.

COMPARTMENT POV

There was a glaring contest, between Hiei and Kagome when suddenly...

Inuyasha barged in screaming,"KIKYOU!"

"MY NAME IS NOT KIKYOU IT'S KAGOME! HANYOU BASTARD?! USE OR LOSE-" Kagome didn't finish as an elegant hand whipped at her mouth and covered it.

KAGOME POV

Great. His 'brother' it seems, is a full demon Taiyoukai. Another icicle In the compartment.. It's ALREADY cold enough with Hiei!

"Get off me you-" I was muffled again.

It slowly became a three way glaring contest between Hiei, Me and that silver haired Taiyoukai. He can be my brother, I thought as I pried the hand.

"I'm a Third Year Prefect. Listen up. Do not make some sorry excuses for spilling the demon secret out-" I shut him up hugging him. Inuyasha literally screamed like a girl," SESSHOMARU IS HUGGING A FIRST YEAR!"

Sesshomaru's POV

She is definetly a Kitsune and a Miko! What does she think? Me as her brother... Well... My insides tingled with protection and brotherly love for this female. Fine. Hmpf. I am protective of her.


	2. TWIN

_FYI- Sesshy and Hiei will be with the first years, somehow..._

**Kurama POV**

As we got down from the train, I heard-

" FiRST YEARS, RIGHT HERE!"

I wrapped my hand protectively in Kagome's unconsciously. Together, we got onto a boat with a black haired greened eye boy named Harry Potter, a ginger named Ron Weasly, and a bushy haired girl named Hermione Granger. As, we talked I noticed Ron and Harry staring at Kagome too long. She is MINE. Wait... Mine? She should be anyways!

**Kagome POV**

Really, that Hermione girl is starting to creep me out. She's trying to flirt with Kurama way too much, thinking I was his sister. I told her no, I'm his best friend, and she started to glare at me. I mean, seriously?' He's like my brother, and I don't like you, so please don't get too attracted to him! Thanks!' Yeah right, this is sooo not funny.

**Harry POV**

Wow, she looks like myself ! except with my father's eyes... I feel like I recognize her. Really, familiar.

**Ron POV**

She's bloody beautiful! I really think she's pretty. Harry and Kagome look so similar, though. Weird right? I think so... Meh, this is creepy.

**Hermione POV**

Almost there. The school is a castle! I started to talk to Shuichi in a flirty way about history. But he seems to really like Kagome instead. My stomach took a sick turn and my heart felt heavy with jealousy. What's so special about her beautiful long raven hair, her looks, her body, and her everything? Yup, time to separate them. They don't look good together.

**AT THE CASTLE**

" Boo!' Headless Nick shouted.

"AHHHH!" Most of the first shouted, except Kagome and Kurama.

"Hey Nick! How are you? Yeah, I'm COMPLETELY fine! IT's been so long since I seen you , at your pleasure. How are you Helena? Mhmm, how is your leg Fat Friar? Mhmm." Kagome joyously shouted to the ghosts.

"Oh we're fine!" chorused the ghosts.

"That's good, this is my new best friend, Shuichi Miniamino!" Kagome said, pointing at the red head. "And this is another Weasly, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter-" Kagome started.

"IT'S THE BOY! HE'S BACK!" Headless Nick shouted.

The other ghosts looked around and asked," Are you sure you and Harry aren't related...as Twins?"

Bloody Baron said," Well, I hope Kagome is in my marvelous house, Slytherin."

"Yes, Slytherin is the best house of all." Draco drawled, looking at Kagome lustfully.

Kurama protectively wrapped Kagome around her waist and stayed near at the soon be, 'Golden Trio.'

"STUDENTS, this way please." Kurama's aunt called. Everyone looked at him with awe and lust.

"That's my aunt." Kurama told everyone cheerfully.

The headmaster, Kagome's Grandpa, called for attention.

"And that's my Grandpa." Kagome whispered to everyone. Boys quietly wolf whistled.

"And that's a hat. Shut your mouths, you too, Shuichi." Aunt McGonagall said.

A Hat Slowly sang...

Oh you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

if you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folks use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands,

For I'm a Thinking Cap!

Kagome gawked. Slowly each student was called up.

"Clay pot, KIKYOU. WEASLY TWINS GET BACK HERE!" Professor McGonagall screamed at two red heads. KIKYOU slutted to where the hat was.

"SLYTHERIN." The hat hissed. Hmmm... I wonder why!?

"Granger, Hermione." Hermione walked up shyly.

"GRIFFINDOR!"

"Higurishi, Kagome." Boys wolf-whistled and cheered. Kurama wished her good luck.

"GRIFINYDOR!"

"Houshi, Miroku." The teenage walked up and placed his hat on his head saying," Hello lovelies!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat yelled

"Janganishi, Hiei. Third year transfer from Dumstrang." You could hear Kurama and Kagome's mouth drop. Expecially the ones from the Tri-Wizard competition.

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat screamed without touching his head. Hiei strode to were our favorite ice cube, Sesshomaru, was.

"Malfoy, Draco." Draco strode up.

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat screamed as it touch his head.

Draco strode to where Hiei was, but Sesshomaru got him self fat and said," No more room." So Draco was stuck with an ugly Pansy.

"Mifan, Kagura(Mirror and Fan)"

"SLYHERIN!" the hat said touching her head

"MiFan, Kanna."

"RAVENCLAW." the hat took a minute.

"Miniamino, Shuichi." Girls seem to swoon as Kurama confidently walked. Kagome gave a little wave.

"GRIFINYDOR!" the hat shouted.

"Potter, Harry." Whispers broke in the crowd. Kagome and Hermione gave a little smile.

"GRYFINDDOR." The hat cried.

"Taijia, Sango." Kagome's eyes popped out.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat screamed.

"Tashio, Inuyasha." Inuyasha received many sighs.

"GRIFFINDOR!"

"Weasly, Ron." NOT ANOTHER WEASLY rippled through the crowd.

He walked up and flinched as the hat was put on.

"GRYFINDOR!"

"Wolf, Kouga." Kouga ran up to the hat, jammed it on his head, the hat screaming," RAVENCLAW! PUT ME DOWN PLEASEEE AHHH!" Kouga then politely put it down the stool running to the table next to Kanna, embarrassed.

"Now LET THE FEAST BEGIN!"

Afterwards, they sang a little welcoming song, with the lines off:

_Hogwarts, Hogwarts,_  
_Hoggy Hoggy Hogwarts_  
_Teach us something, please,_  
_Whether we be old and bald_  
_Or young with scabby knees,_  
_Our heads could do with filling_  
_With some interesting stuff,_  
_For now they're bare and full of air,_  
_Dead flies and bits of fluff,_  
_So teach us things worth knowing,_  
_Bring back what we've forgot,_  
_Just do your best, we'll do the rest,_  
_And learn until our brains all rot._

It ended up delightfully with the slow Weasly twins.

_**-Later-**_

"Goodnight, Hiei." Kagome hugged Hiei, making himself dazed.

"Goodnight, Sesshomaru." Kagome hugged Sesshy, making sure to touch his fur. Sesshomaru responded, patting her head.

"Good night, ice cubes." she yelled as she skipped to the Fat Lady, not needing the intro.

Inside, was Hermione flirting with an annoyed looking Kurama, who jumped into Kagome hugging her. Everyone in the room was full of jealousy, except her 'twin' the boy who lived. Looking at Kagome again, he froze rigid.

Hearing only screams, a flash of green light. A baby with blue eyes and black hair whisked away, making him feel torn, without his other half.

He, and another baby, laughing and riding on the same toy broomstick.

He, and another baby, fighting over his pacifier, laughing yet crying.

Another scream.

"Harry?" Kagome asked.

"Sit down, we need to talk." Harry weakly said." Privately."

Everyone left them alone.

"Kagome? It seems like I've known you for so long." they locked gazes and froze rigid. Theirselves in memory.

Kagome and Harry looked at each other. Then, they looked at themselves younger.

"Mommy?" asked Little Kagome and Harry.

"Yes Kagome and Harry?" Lily sat down and calmed he babies down.

"Where is-" little Kagome began.

"Daddy?" Little Harry finished.

Lily smiled warmly and said, "Let's checks the cabinet."

"Boo!" James Potter laughed. "How are my birthday twins?"

"EEEK!" Little Kagome and Harry jumped on James, like bouncy balls.

DING DONG!

"I'll get the door." Lily stated.

"SURPRISE! How are our favorite twins?" Sirius and Remus said together, laughing as the Potter twins came.

"EEEKKK! UNCLE!" shouted the twins.

"Where's Wormtail? He-"Lily began

BOOM! Voldemort came with Death Eaters with Wormtail.

"GO! PROTECT THE KIDS!" James shouted. To Lupin, he said," Make sure they are safe and separated. Make sure they will relive this memory when they gaze into their eyes." Giving him a bag of blue swirly stuff, Sirius and James ran to battle.

"DADDY!" The twins shouted, making Voldemort instantly kill James and forget about Sirius. Lupin was already on the stairs, dragging himself with a finished bottle to accuse Sirius, not seeing Wormtail.

All poor Harry and Kagome wanted was a real family.

**IN THE ROOM**

Kagome and Harry looked at each other, knowing none will survive.

"NO NEVER WILL YOU GET HARRY!" Lily shouted thinking Kagome was dead.

"SISSY DIED!" Harry's eyes were becoming a dangerous blue.

Harry and Kagome flew into the next memory.

**KAGOME POV**

Harry and I looked at each other and I cried softly from the past memory.

Little me was cradled softly outside the headmaster's office. Inside was tucked a flute and a memory. Inside my younger self's eyes, were turned blue, instead of green.

"HARRY! KAGOME!" the whole room shook alive.

Harry and Kagome were busy embracing each other, crying. People could hear the words. "Sorry. Twin. missed. Mom and Dad. Dead. Kill. Voldemort."


	3. Flying gone Wrong

_**"**There was a lot more to magic, as Harry quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words.**" Harry's thoughts about the classes**_

**Kurama Pov**

Jealousy shook through me. Is Kagome abandoning me for that Harry Potter? I shook my head and tried to clear my head. She is mine. MINE.

**Room POV**

"She/he doesn't deserve the boy/girl." was rippling through the room.

Kagome and Harry were too busy laughing and hugging, tearing up.

"I miss you so much Harry. How's life? Is the Durselys torturing you? I'll show them love. You should go over where I live. Let's go to grandpa's office." Kagome said in one breath.

"Bye! SEE YOU LATER!" Harry and Kagome dashed out hand in hand.

**Kagome and Harry POV**

Up the stairs, down the corridor, up the stairs, in front of the gargoyle.

"Lemon Drop." Kagome said, but Harry and Kagome shared minds.

_'Hey Harry! I can speak with you in telepathy! That's awesome!'_ **Kagome said.**

**'Whoa! Your saying the truth! We should hide our secret now, just in case Voldemort discovers.' **_Harry mentally gasped. Kagome mentally agreed in his head._

The gargoyle slid aside and revealed an entrance. As they climbed up stairs, they were mentally thinking what they should be called. That's it! They both thought of 'The Twins who lived' will be what other magical people call them. 'Hell Twins' is what muggles will call them. Hehe... They walked into Dumbledore's office, laughing hard.

"Come in." a voice responded as they knocked on the door.

They slid in, as Fawks was dying. Kagome rushed next to it and whispered in its ear, "Long time no see."

Harry just gawked as it exploded and a new head poked out.

_'It's beautiful.' Harry gasped._

**'It's a phoenix dummy. It can regenerate after it dies.' Kagome mentally chuckled cutting the connection off.**

"How are we twins? I demand to know." the Hell Twins asked.

"Well... Dumbledore looked around. You know Lily? Your mother?" Dumbledore asked.

The Twins nodded their head.

"Petunia...She isn't exactly your aunt. She was your Mother's cousin. I am her father, her real name is Lily Dumbledore. But ever since... *Dramatic saddened pause form Dumbledore* Melina died... I gave up trying to raise Lily. It was too hard, I never had the time. At that time, Petunia was one year old, so I gave Lily to her aunt, after a misfortune of the second child. I am also your grandpa, Harry. Godric Griffindor is actually my great Grandpa, making you his descendants. He fell in love for Midoriki, making Kagome a priestess. For your extra safety, I sealed off Harry's demon blood until he's seventeen. Demon Blood is the real key. If your a demon, no curse will harm you. Jinxes will only take half of the full power. Alive Mikos (Ahem, Kikyo) are supposed to be naturals at wands. Reliving Miko(Ahem, Kikyou) will turn evil, and take over the world. The real reason Voldemort and Bellatrix crashed your house, is because he thought Kagome was his daughter, but Kikyou was." Grandpa Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore said in a whole breath and walked away leaving two stunned youngsters.

"Let's go back." Harry mumbled, later carrying a half-asleep shocked Kagome across his shoulders.

**Kurama Pov**

I saw Harry come back in, carrying Kagome. Does she really think I'm that useless. Harry seems shocked, and Kagome seemed to be close to fainting. Hmmmm... I'll ask later.

**Narrator POV**

**Little** did Kurama know, they were absolute best friends forever, with Kurama. **Little** did Kurama know, they were twins. **Little** did Kurama know, Kagome had loved him. Jealousy was Kurama. Anger was Hermione. Shock was Kagome. Exhaustion was Harry. Confusion was Ron. Groping was Miroku. Questions was Kagome. Tired was Dumbledore.

Slowly, students filed out of the Common Room, leaving lonely Kurama to ponder. Quietly, he walked away thinking of Jealousy and Anger. Kagome was **HIS.**

Really, he felt lonely.

Harry had an amazing sleep. Kagome popped up in his dream, somehow. They flew threw memories, laughing, and crying alike. Unknown to them, Kurama had also been in the same dreams, jealousy took over thinking they had been childhood crushes. He thought if he met her first, it would have been **so good.**

Damn.

Haha! Harry laughed. Little Harry was putting ice cream in a flushed Little Kagome, who was laughing after she put a frog on his tiny zooming broom.

Har Har! Kagome laughed as Little Her was dunking Little Harry into a potty hole.

They laughed and laughed until it sprung tears.

**IN the Morning**

Harry, Kurama, and Kagome sprung up, and walked to the Common Room, waiting for Ron and Kurama ... Well, Only Kagome and Harry. Kurama was only waiting for Ron only . The Twins didn't know Kurama was sulking in the corner. They were recalling last night's sweet, sweet memories. It had been so fun. Kurama, however, was _spying _on them laughing and hugging each other. WHO wouldn't want an evil twin? Ron crashed into the room complaining about their schedule.

**Lessons:  ** _Information based off of **Harry Potter Wiki- First Year**_

** Monday** -

Xylomancy ,Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts ,Charms

**Tuesday**-

Potions ,History of Magic, Charms, Herbology ,Transfiguration

**Wednesday**-

Double Potions, Charms ,Magical Theory ,History of Magic

**Thursday**-

Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Transfiguration, Flying

**Friday-**

Herbology, History of Magic ,Charms Magical ,Theory

**Saturday-**

Potions Potions Transfiguration Transfiguration

"That's life." Kagome commented to Ron's annoying shouting, it acted like an alarm clock to ALL students.

"AHHHHH! Shut up!" came the voice of a seventh year, Hermione woke up and slumbered down.

Kurama, however, pretended to slink down the stairs.

"Good Morning." Kurama curtly said and stared a second longer at the twins.

"It's THURSDAY!" came the voice of the Weasly Twins as they descended down the stairs. "You know what that means?" Fred asked George.

"That means First Years falling off m' brooms!" George replied, laughing.

"We're going to Lessons. Bye!" the first years hastily left.

"First up... Potions!" Kagome cheerily replied, while everyone was left curious. Down the stairs, colder and colder and colder... BRRR! Into a cold dungeon.

"Hello Snape! How are you? I'm fine really can't wait to get started!" Kagome asked Snape.

"Fine... Really. Ten Points for getting late. Potter. Weasly." Snape snapped at them and fondly looked at Kagome.

"Tell them not to get late, Kagome." Snape then softly said to Kagome.

**Harry POV**

So his greasy man likes Kagome as his friend? YUCK?!

"Tell me what will I get if I add Powdered Root of Asphodel to an infusion of Wormwood?" Snape snapped at me.

"Uhhhhh..." I dumbly replied, as Kagome and Hermione raised their hands and stretched far. High.

"10 points for not knowing. Kagome?" Snape then looked again to Kaggie... Wait what? Kaggie? Oh well, I can tease her with that.

"Correct! 20 points for Gryfindor! Where would you look if I tell you to find me a Bezoar?" Snape asked me again.

"Uh..." came out my mouth. Why pick on me?

"Kagome?"

"A Bezoar is a stone, taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from the most poisons... Sir." Kagome replied once more.

" 30 points for Gryffindor. Learn to be like Kagome class. What is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane? No Kagome, I am picking a new student, you are too good. Hermione?"

"Ummm...They are the same plant which also goes by the name of Aconite." Hermione correctly replied.

" Too slow. No points." Snape snapped. It was obvious Kagome and Slytherins were his favorite... Not fair. Slytherins, probably because of his stupid house. Seriously.

**-Later On-**

Harry had never believed he would meet a boy they hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy. Still, first-year Gryffindors only had Potions with the Slytherins, so they didn't have to put up with Malfoy much. Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room that made them all groan. Flying lessons would be starting fast - and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.

"Just what I need. I'll completely fail at this flying broom stick thing." Kagome sighed.

"Typical," said Harry darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."

Kagome sighed again. Kurama said while patting her back, "I'm sure you will be great Kagome."

Hermione stated, " Flying? Why can't we use something else?" Everyone just glared at her.

He had been looking forward to learning to fly more than anything else.

"You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," said Ron reasonably. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk."

Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Quidditch teams and told long, boastful stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters. He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick.

Even Ron would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang glider on Charlie's old broom. Everyone from wizard families talked about Quidditch constantly. Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared their dormitory, about soccer. Ron couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly.

Harry had caught Ron prodding Dean's poster of West Ham soccer team, trying to make the players move. Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one. Privately, Harry felt she'd had good reason, because Neville managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground. Hermione Granger was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was. This was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book - not that she hadn't tried.

At lunch, she bored them all stupid with flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called Quidditch Through the Ages. Neville was hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, but everybody else was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the mail. Kagome had gotten a goodie bag from her family ,with new herbs and such. Kurama had gotten a white rose from his mother. Harry hadn't had a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Malfoy had been quick to notice, of course. Malfoy's eagle owl was always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opened gloatingly at the Slytherin table. A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother.

He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.

"It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things - this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red - oh..."

His face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "You've forgotten something..."

Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand. Harry and Ron jumped to their feet.

They were half hoping for a reason to fight Malfoy, but Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash. "What's going on?"

"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor." Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table. "Just looking," he said, and he skidded away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.

**Thirty some minutes later. NO ONE POV**

Ron, and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance. The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Harry had heard Fred and George Weasley complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left. Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

Harry glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.

"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!"

"UP! " everyone shouted or yelled at their broom .

Harry, Kurama and Kagome's broom jumped into his hand at once, but it was the only ones that did in Griffindydor . Hermione Granger's had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all. Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid, thought Harry; there was a quaver in Neville's voice that said only too clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground.

Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Harry and Ron were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle - three - two -"

But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.

"Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle - twelve feet -fifty feet.

Harry saw his scared pale face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and - WHAM - a thud and a nasty crunch and Neville lay facedown on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight. Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his.

"Broken wrist," Harry heard her mutter. "Come on, boy - it's all right, up you go."

She turned to the rest of the class. "None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear."

Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him. No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter.

"Did you see his face, the great lump?" The other Slytherins joined in. "Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil. "Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl.

"Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati."

"Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass.

"It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him." The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up. "Give that here, Malfoy," said Kagome quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch.

Malfoy smiled nastily. "I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find - how about - up a tree?"

"Give it here!" Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been lying, he could fly well.

Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Potter, Higurishi!"

Kurama had been angered too. Instantly, the three flew up and surrounded Malfoy above the ground. Oh- let's say, one hundred feet in the air. Kagome felt fearless, Harry felt angered, and Kurama was starting to angry. Instantly, Malfoy panicked and dropped it... Down there... Weee...

Kagome nodded to her future teammates and zoomed. Harry went the opposite direction and zoomed. Kurama went in the middle. There, almost... GOT IT! Kagome, Kurama, and Harry got it dangling by their fingertips and Griffinydors cheered.

"That's enough. Higurishi, Miniamino, Potter, follow me, now." Mcgonagall Looked STERN.

Harry and Kagome caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's triumphant faces as he left, walking numbly in Professor McGonagall's wake as she strode toward the castle. He was going to be expelled, he just knew it.

**"I don't want to be expelled." Kagome communicated Telepathically at Harry.**

**'Me too...' Harry replied, stunned.**

He wanted to say something to defend himself, but there seemed to be something wrong with his voice.

Professor McGonagall was sweeping along without even looking at him; he had to jog to keep up. Now he'd done it. He hadn't even lasted two weeks. He'd be packing his bags in ten minutes. What would the Dursleys say when he turned up on the doorstep? Up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside, and still Professor McGonagall didn't say a word to him. She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with Harry trotting miserably behind her. Maybe she was taking him to Dumbledore.

He thought of Hagrid, expelled but allowed to stay on as gamekeeper. Perhaps they could be Hagrid's assistant. His stomach twisted as he imagined it, watching Ron and the others becoming wizards, while they stumped around the grounds carrying Hagrid's bag.

Professor McGonagall stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside.

"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?"

Wood? thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him? But Wood turned out to be a person, a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwicles class looking confused.

"Follow me, you four," said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at them all.


	4. Quittich and Halloween

**NO ONE POV**

Professor McGonagall pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard. "Out, Peeves!"she barked.

Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing.

Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face the two boys.

"Miniamino, Higurishi, Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood - I've found you a Seeker, and two chasers."

Wood's expression changed from puzzlement to delight. "Are you serious, Professor?"

"Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "They're natural. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick?"

Kagome, Kurama, and Harry nodded silently. They didn't have a clue what was going on, but they didn't seem to be being expelled, and some of the feeling started coming back to their legs.

"He caught that thing in his hand after a two hundred dive," Professor McGonagall told Wood.

"Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it."

Wood was now looking as though all his dreams had come true at once. "Ever seen a game of Quidditch, kids?" he asked excitedly.

"Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team," Professor McGonagall explained.

"He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. "Light - speedy - we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor - a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say."

"Hm... "Wood walked around Kagome and Kurama. "Speedy- Muscular- Lean, just for the Chaser replacing Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell. "

"I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. Flattened in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks..." Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at them. "I want to hear you're training hard, you three, or I may change my mind about punishing you."

Then she suddenly smiled. "Your father would have been proud," she said to Harry. "He was an excellent Quidditch player himself."

**Dining Hall**

It was dinnertime. Harry and Kagome had just finished telling Ron what had happened when he'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak and kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he'd forgotten all about it.

"Seeker?" he said. "But first years never - you must be the youngest house player in about a century!"

Harry was shoveling pie into his mouth, Kagome was reading, and Kurama was envious.

Harry Potter felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Wood told me."

Ron was so amazed, so impressed, he just sat and gaped at Harry.

"We start training next week," said Harry. "Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret."

Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted Harry, and hurried over.

"Well done," said George in a low voice. "Wood told us. We're on the team too - Beaters."

"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."

"Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school." "Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you."

Fred and George had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up: Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. "Having a last meal, Potter, Miniamino, and Higuirshi? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"

"Fuck you." Inuyasha stated.

"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," Kagome stated coolly. There was of course nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl.

" Pffft, Kagome. They're just hogs that pretend to be true Hogwarts students, don't mind them." Kurama stated.

By then, they were walking away.

By now, Malfoy's face was red.

Harry caught up saying,"Yeah, especially with Malfoy using his so called 'minions.'"

Offended Crabbe and Goyle started turning on Draco at the mention of minions.

Sesshomaru and Hiei walked to sit with the Griffinydors, and bellowed, " DON'T OFFEND OUR FELLOW GRIFFINDYDORS."

"Uhhh..." was all Malfoy could say, before running back like a coward, the ice cubes rarely/never yelled.

" Serves him right." Ron said.

Everyone from the tables murmured with agreement.

**At Night**

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

Aww... Crap! Kagome ran and hid, at a random room. Pant... Pant... She was lost... So freaking lost! Kagome **WANTED **to go and find herself that secret room... The one you can make it into any room you want. Was it... Room of Requirement? Maybe.

Just then, a voice, outside of Hogwarts... Seriously, not funny , making sure no one was watching, she jumped out the window, landed on her feet and hid behind a bush... Wait. Is that Kurama?

He was holding a rose, wearing robes, tear drops falling freely.

"Oh... Kagome... How I love you. Why...? Why..." Shuichi Minianimno A.K.A. Youko Kurama.

_Oh Kurama... I never thought I'd put you in mental pain. If only I could tell you, but this would mean danger to all. I'll tell him Harry's just a really good friend. _Kagome thought.

"Oh Kagome..." Kurama was clutching the rose, without noticing the rose thorns cutting into his tan skin.

Kurama clutched it even tighter, until he rose it and... WHAM! A pink barrier rose between the rose, preventing it to do any harm. "... W-who's there?" Kurama voice shook with pain.

"Kurama... It's me... Kagome." Kagome voice quavered and hugged him.

"Kags?" Kurama looked shocked but relaxed as she kissed him.

"Kurama... I love you too." Kagome said, teary eyed. " Harry isn't my love, he's just a really great friend. Trust me."

This time Kurama fully returned it and asked , dropping on one knee, "Kagome... Your funny and sweet every day. Will you be my girlfriend?"

Every thing went silent, as Kurama was starting to droop, Kagome surprised, shouted, "YES YESYESYESYYSYEYSES! OF course!

They ran back together, laughing, and talking so fast if weren't demon, you couldn't catch ONE word.

A lone figure with spiky black hair and ruby red eyes quietly slipped into the darkness.

**In the morning**

Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful.

"Kurama and I have started dating." Kagome announced, making all the boys and girls jealous. Hiei was especially shady today.

Indeed, by the next morning Harry and Ron thought that meeting the three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure, and they were quite keen to have another one.

In the meantime, Harry filled Ron in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection.

"It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron. "Or both," said Harry.

"What's valuable?" Kagome asked.

**'I'll tell you later.' Harry told Kagome Telepathically.**

But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues.

Neither Neville nor Hermione showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor. All Neville cared about was never going near the dog again. Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus. All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Malfoy, and to their great delight, just such a thing arrived in the mail about a week later.

As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by a long, thin package carried by twenty large screech owls. Harry was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large parcel, and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of Kagome, Kurama, and him, knocking his bacon to the floor, Kagome's juice, and Kurama's, who just came in, new pancakes to the floor. They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of their parcel.

Harry, Kagome, and Kurama ripped open the letter first, which was lucky, because it said: DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE. It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session. Professor McGonagall Harry had difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to Ron to read.

"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even touched one."

They all left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private before their first class, but halfway across the entrance hall they found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy seized the package from Harry and felt it.

"Malfoy... I suggest you run before I beat your ass up." Kagome said, but the Slytherins only backed away and scowled.

"That's a broomstick," he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You'll be in for it this time, Miniamino, Higurishi, Potter, first years aren't allowed them."

Ron couldn't resist it. "It's not any old broomstick," he said, "it's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?"

Ron grinned at Everyone. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."

"What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Malfoy snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig."

_Crack..._

Crack... _The sound of knuckles cracking. _

"Shut up Malfoy." Inuyasha said.

Before Ron could answer, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's elbow. "Not arguing, I hope, ladies and gentlemen?" he squeaked.

"Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy quickly. "Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at the three 'special' students.

"Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?" "A Nimbus Two Thousand, sit," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy's face.

"And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it," he added. They headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Malfoy's obvious rage and confusion.

"Well, it's true," Harry chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase, "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouln't be on the team..."

"So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?" came an angry voice from just behind them. Hermione was stomping up the stairs, looking disapprovingly at the package in their hand.

"I thought you weren't speaking to us?" said Harry.

"Yes, don't stop now," said Ron, "it's doing us so much good."

Hermione marched away with her nose in the air. Harry had a lot of trouble keeping his mind on his lessons that day.

It kept wandering up to the dormitory where his new broomstick was lying under his bed, or straying off to the Quidditch field where he'd be learning to play that night. He bolted his dinner that evening without noticing what he was eating, and then rushed upstairs with Ron to unwrap the Nimbus Two Thousand at last. "Wow," Ron sighed, as the broomstick rolled onto Harry's bedspread.

Even Harry, who knew nothing about the different brooms, thought it looked wonderful. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold near the top. As seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry left the castle and set off in the dusk toward the Quidditch field. Held never been inside the stadium before. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the field so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. Kagome and Kurama were entwined together, already there,

At either end of the field were three golden poles with hoops on the end. They reminded Harry of the little plastic sticks Muggle children blew bubbles through, except that they were fifty feet high.

"Hey guys, come on."

Too eager to fly again to wait for Wood, they mounted their broomsticks and kicked off from the ground. What a feeling - he swooped in and out of the goal posts and then sped up and down the field. The Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch. Kagome swooped in directions and everywhere. Kurama was flying up, down, upside down, swooping around.

"Hey, guys, come down!' Oliver Wood had arrived.

He was carrying a large wooden crate under his arm. Harry landed next to him. "Very nice," said Wood, his eyes glinting. "I see what McGonagall meant... you really are a natural. I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week."

He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls. "Right," said Wood. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers."

"Three Chasers," they repeated, as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a soccer ball. "This ball's called the Quaffle," said Wood. "The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Follow me?"

"The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score," they recited. Harry said, "So - that's sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops, isn't it?"

"What's basketball?" said Wood curiously. "Never mind," said Harry quickly.

"Now, there's another player on each side who's called the Keeper -I'm Keeper for Gryffindor. I have to fly around our hoops and stop the other team from scoring."  
"Three Chasers, one Keeper," they said, who was determined to remember it all. "And they play with the Quaffle. Okay, got that."

"So what are they for?" Harry asked pointing at the three balls left inside the box.

"I'll show you now," said Wood. "Take this." He handed Harry a small club, a bit like a short baseball bat. "I'm going to show you what the Bludgers do," Wood said. "These two are the Bludgers."

He showed them two identical balls, jet black and slightly smaller than the red Quaffle. Harry noticed that they seemed to be straining to escape the straps holding them inside the box. "Stand back," Wood warned them. He bent down and freed one of the Bludgers.

At once, the black ball rose high in the air and then pelted straight at Harry's face. Kagome swung at it with the bat to stop it from breaking his nose, and sent it zigzagging away into the air - it zoomed around their heads and then shot at Wood, who dived on top of it and managed to pin it to the ground.

"See?" Wood panted, forcing the struggling Bludger back into the crate and strapping it down safely. "The Bludgers rocket around, trying to knock players off their brooms. That's why you have two Beaters on each team - the Weasley twins are ours - it's their job to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them toward the other team. So - think you've got all that?"

"Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the goal posts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team," they reeled off.

"Very good," said Wood. "Er - have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?" Harry asked, hoping he sounded offhand.

"Never at Hogwarts. We've had a couple of broken jaws but nothing worse than that. Now, the last member of the team is the Seeker. That's you, Harry. And you don't have to worry about the Quaffle or the Bludgers unless they crack my head open."

"Don't worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers - I mean, they're like a pair of human Bludgers themselves." Wood reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last ball.

Compared with the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny, about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering silver wings.

"This," said Wood, "is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get it before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win. That's why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages - I think the record is three months, they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep. Well, that's it - any questions?"

They shook their head. They understood what he had to do all right, it was doing it that was going to be the problem.

"We won't practice with the Snitch yet," said Wood, carefully shutting it back inside the crate, "it's too dark, we might lose it. Let's try you guys out with a few of these."

He pulled a bag of ordinary golf balls out of his pocket and a few minutes later, everyone were up in the air, Wood throwing the golf balls as hard as he could in every direction for Harry to catch. Harry didn't miss a single one, and Wood was delighted.

Kagome and Kurama didn't miss any either.

After half an hour, night had really fallen and they couldn't carry on.

"That Quidditch cup'll have our name on it this year," said Wood happily as they trudged back up to the castle. "I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley, and he could have played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons."

Perhaps it was because they were now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of all their homework, but Harry could hardly believe it when he realized that he'd already been at Hogwarts two months. The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive ever had. His lessons, too, were becoming more and more interesting now that they had mastered the basics.

On Halloween morning, they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom. Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Harry's partner was Kagome and Kurama (which was a relief, because Neville had been trying to catch his eye).

Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this. She hadn't spoken to either of them since the day Harry's broomstick had arrived.

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual.

"Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too - never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."

It was very difficult. Harry swished and flicked, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skyward just lay on the desktop. On the other side with Neville, Seamus got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and set fire to it - Harry had to put it out with his hat.

Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck. "Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill. "You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long." "You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled. Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The feather quavered and flew up.

"Very good! 10 points for Gryfinndor." Professor Flitwick said.

" My feather, under the desk!" Neville cried.

Before anyone could speak, Kagome shouted, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The table swiftly flew up, and was then softly set down.

"Thirty points for Kagome! Excellent!" Flitwick smiled at Kagome. However, Hermione was sulking at not being number one.

"AHHHH! The desk is on fire!" Seamus cried.

Kagome and Kurama nodded at each other and yelled, "Aguamenti!"

The fire was instantly put out, but things were charred.

Kurama yelled, "Reparo!"

Everything was clean and new.

"Woah..." was everyone's response.

"Wow! I've never seen any one like this! One hundred points for Griffinydor." Flitwick squeaked.

The Griffinydor cheered and yelled to each other, happy.

The two lovers slipped out of the room.

"Hermione is such a showoff. Honestly. But Kagome and Kurama on the other hand, is AWESOME! Do you think they know any jinxes? I mean like-" Ron was cutoff as Hermione ran out, obviously sobbing.

" I think she heard you." stated Harry.

"So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed she's got no friends."

Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling Kagome that Hermione was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone.

Ron looked still more awkward at this, but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione out of their minds. A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet. Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped,

"Troll - in the dungeons - thought you ought to know." He then sank to the floor in a dead faint. There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.

"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Percy was in his element. "Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!" No one noticed as seven people slipped away.

"How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs. "Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke."

They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Harry suddenly grabbed Ron's arm. "I've just thought - Hermione."

"What about her?" "She doesn't know about the troll." Ron bit his lip. "Oh, all right," he snapped. "But Percy'd better not see us." Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.

"Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry behind a large stone griffin. Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.

"What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"

"Search me."

Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps. "He's heading for the third floor," Harry said, but Ron held up his hand. "Can you smell something?"

Harry sniffed and a foul stench reached his nostrils, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean. And then they heard it - a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed - at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving toward them. They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight. It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long. The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.

"The keys in the lock," Harry muttered. "We could lock it in."

"Good idea," said Ron nervously. They edged toward the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn't about to come out of it. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the key, slam the door, and lock it. 'Yes!" Flushed with their victory, they started to run back up the passage, but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop - a high, petrified scream - and it was coming from the chamber they'd just chained up.

"Oh, no," said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron.

"It's the girls' bathroom!" Harry gasped.

"Hermione!" they said together. It was the last thing they wanted to do, but what choice did they have? Wheeling around, they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in their panic. Harry pulled the door open and they ran inside. Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went, but then...

"Stupefy!" Sesshomaru, Hiei, Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku and Kurama yelled.

The troll instantly fainted.

"Uh... Kagome? Hiei? Kurama? Sesshomaru? Sango? Miroku? Inuyasha?" they asked.

"Ummmmmm...? What do you mean, I- I'm Barney?" Inuyasha somehow said.

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart. Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at them. They had never seen her look so angry. Her lips were white. Hopes of winning fifty points for Gryffindor and Slytherin faded quickly from Harry's mind.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. They had their wands in the air. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory? Sesshomaru? HIei? I expected better. Kagome. Kurama. Dearies. Don't. You. Understand the RULES?"

"I-It was me, Madam." Hermione's voice squeaked and raised an octave higher.

"Well - in that case..." said Professor McGonagall, staring at the ten of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?" Hermione hung her head.

Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets.

"Miss Granger, ten points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses." Hermione left. Professor McGonagall turned to the nine of them.

"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first and third years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win your house five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."

"Whew that was close." Sango murmured... Wait...

Wait...

A Hand...

"HENTAI!" Sango screamed.

Everyone sweat dropped as Sango slapped Miroku... Hard.

Yup. Things never change.

They went their ways.

The Griffinydors had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Pig snout," they said and entered. The common room was packed and noisy.

Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up. Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause.

Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said,"Thanks," and hurried off to get plates.

But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them. Hermione's jealousy of Kagome and Kurama faded fast.

**Quittich that one day**

Madam Hooch was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand. "Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said, once they were all gathered around her. Harry noticed that she seemed to be speaking particularly to the Slytherins, but not Hiei and Sesshomaru. Harry thought some looked as if he had some troll blood in them.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw the fluttering banner high above, flashing Potter for President over the crowd. Some where, 'Kagome is our Princess." or 'Kurama is our prince!'

His heart skipped. He felt braver.

"Mount your brooms, please."

THey clambered onto his Nimbus Two Thousand. Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle.

Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the air. They were off. "And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Kagome of Gryffindor - what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too -"

"JORDAN!"

"Sorry, Professor." The Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was doing the commentary for the match, closely watched by Professor McGonagall.

"And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Kurama, a good find of Oliver Wood's - back to Higuirshi and - no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes - Flint flying like an eagle up there - he's going to sc- no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle - that's Chaser Angelina of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and - OUCH - that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger - Quaffle taken by the Slytherins - that's Hiei speeding off toward the goal posts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger - sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which - nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Sesshomaru back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off he goes - he's really flying - OHHH AND KURAMA GETS IT!-he dodges a speeding Bludger - the goal posts are ahead!- come on, now, Kurama- Keeper Bletchley from Slytherin dives - misses - GRYFFINDORS SCORE!"

Gryffindors cheered happily.

Way up above them, Harry was gliding over the game, squinting about for some sign of the Snitch. This was part of his and Wood's game plan. "Keep out of the way until you catch sight of the Snitch," Wood had said. "We don't want you attacked before you have to be."

When Kurama had scored, Harry had done a couple of loop-the-loops to let off his feelings. Now he was back to staring around for the Snitch. Once he caught sight of a flash of gold, but it was just a reflection from one of the Weasleys' wristwatches, and once a Bludger decided to come pelting his way, more like a cannonball than anything, but Harry dodged it and Fred Weasley came chasing after it.

"All right there, Harry?" he had time to yell, as he beat the Bludger furiously toward Marcus Flint.

"Slytherin in possession," Lee Jordan was saying, "Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Bell, and speeds toward the - wait a moment - was that the Snitch?" A murmur ran through the crowd as Adrian Pucey dropped the Quaffle, too, letting Kagome score twice...


	5. Fluffy is adorable!

**Quittich POV**

Harry saw it. In a great rush of excitement he dived downward after the streak of gold. Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs had seen it, too. Neck and neck they hurtled toward the Snitch -all the Chasers seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing as they hung in midair to watch.

Harry was faster than Higgs - he could see the little round ball, wings fluttering, darting up ahead - - he put on an extra spurt of speed - WHAM!

A roar of rage echoed from the Gryffindors below - Marcus Flint had blocked Harry on purpose, and Harry's broom spun off course, Harry holding on for dear life.

"Foul!" screamed the Gryffindors.

Madam Hooch spoke angrily to Flint and then ordered a free shot at the goal posts for Gryffindor. But in all the confusion, of course, the Golden Snitch had disappeared from sight again.

Down in the stands, Dean Thomas was yelling, "Send him off, ref! Red card!"

"What are you talking about, Dean?" said Ron. "Red card!" said Dean furiously. "In soccer you get shown the red card and you're out of the game!"

"But this isn't soccer, Dean," Ron reminded him. Hagrid, however, was on Dean's side. "They oughta change the rules. Flint coulda knocked Harry outta the air."

Lee Jordan was finding it difficult not to take sides. "So - after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating "Jordan!" growled Professor McGonagall.  
"I mean, after that open and revolting foul 'Jordan, I'm warning you -"

"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinner, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession."

It was as Harry dodged another Bludger, which went spinning dangerously past his head, that it happened. His broom gave a sudden, frightening lurch. Kagome and Kurama had started circling under him, afraid of his fall. For a split second, he thought he was going to fall. He gripped the broom tightly with both his hands and knees. He'd never felt anything like that. It happened again. It was as though the broom was trying to buck him off.

But Nimbus Two Thousands did not suddenly decide to buck their riders off. Harry tried to turn back toward the Gryffindor goal- posts - he had half a mind to ask Wood to call time-out - and then he realized that his broom was completely out of his control. He couldn't turn it. He couldn't direct it at all. It was zigzagging through the air, and every now and then making violent swishing movements that almost unseated him. Lee was still commentating.

"Slytherin in possession - Flint with the Quaffle - passes Kurama - passes Kagome - hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose - only joking, Professor - Slytherins score - A no..."

The Slytherins were cheering. No one seemed to have noticed that Harry's broom was behaving strangely, except those two lovers. It was carrying- him slowly higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went.

"Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing," Hagrid mumbled. He stared through his binoculars. "If I didn' know better, I'd say he'd lost control of his broom... but he can't have..."

Suddenly, people were pointing up at Harry all over the stands. His broom had started to roll over and over, with him only just managing to hold on. Then the whole crowd gasped. Harry's broom had given a wild jerk and Harry swung off it. He was now dangling from it, holding on with only one hand.  
"Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?" Seamus whispered.

"Can't have," Hagrid said, his voice shaking. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark magic - no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand."

At these words, Hermione seized Hagrid's binoculars, but instead of looking up at Harry, she started looking frantically at the crowd. "What are you doing?" moaned Ron, gray-faced.

"I knew it," Hermione gasped, "Snape - look." Ron grabbed the binoculars. Snape was in the middle of the stands opposite them. He had his eyes fixed on Harry and was muttering nonstop under his breath.

"He's doing something - jinxing the broom," said Hermione. "What should we do?"

"Leave it to me." Before Ron could say another word, Hermione had disappeared. Ron turned the binoculars back on Harry. His broom was vibrating so hard, it was almost impossible for him to hang on much longer. The whole crowd was on its feet, watching, terrified, as the lovers flew up to try and pull Harry safely onto one of their brooms, but it was no good - every time they got near him, the broom would jump higher still. They dropped lower and circled beneath him again, obviously hoping to catch him if he fell.

Marcus Flint seized the Quaffle and scored five times without anyone noticing.

"Come on, Hermione," Ron muttered desperately. Hermione had fought her way across to the stand where Snape stood, and was now racing along the row behind him; she didn't even stop to say sorry as she knocked Professor Quirrell headfirst into the row in front. Reaching Snape, she crouched down, pulled out her wand, and whispered a few, well- chosen words. Bright blue flames shot from her wand onto the hem of Snape's robes.

It took perhaps thirty seconds for Snape to realize that he was on fire. A sudden yelp told her she had done her job. Scooping the fire off him into a little jar in her pocket, she scrambled back along the row - Snape would never know what had happened. It was enough. Up in the air, Harry was suddenly able to clamber back on to his broom.

"Neville, you can look!" Ron said. Neville had been sobbing into Hagrid's jacket for the last five minutes. Harry was speeding toward the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was about to be sick - he hit the field on all fours - coughed - and something gold fell into his hand.

"I've got the Snitch!" he shouted, waving it above his head, and the game ended in complete confusion.

"He didn't catch it, he nearly swallowed it," Flint was still howling twenty minutes later, but it made no difference - Harry hadn't broken any rules and Lee Jordan was still happily shouting the results - Gryffindor had won by one hundred and seventy points to sixty.

Harry heard none of this, though. He was being made a cup of strong tea back in Hagrid's hut, with Ron and Hermione, Kurama and Kagome close behind.

"It was Snape," Ron was explaining, "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you."

"Rubbish," said Hagrid, who hadn't heard a word of what had gone on next to him in the stands."Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another, wondering what to tell him. Harry decided on the truth.

"I found out something about him," he told Hagrid. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding." Hagrid dropped the teapot. "How do you know about Fluffy?" he said.

"His name is FLUFFY? That suits him perfectly, he's just sooooo adorable! Did you see his three heads? I mean, seriously, his black fur is so sleek and shiny! How did you get it like that?" Kagome asked.

Everyone sweatdropped, except Hagrid, hoping it wasn't what she really meant.

"I groom 'im everyday." Hagrid stated proudly.

Kagome beamed at him. Apparently, this wasn't a lie.

"Fluffy?" Harry and ROn asked curiously.

"Yeah - he's mine - bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year - I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the-"

"Yes?" said Harry eagerly.

"Now, don't ask me anymore," said Hagrid gruffly. "That's top secret, that is."

"But Snape's trying to steal it."

"Rubbish," said Hagrid again. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."

"So why did he just try and kill Harry?" cried Kurama.

The afternoon's events certainly seemed to have changed her mind about Snape.

"I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!" Hermione yelled, while Kagome was cooing how cute the dog was.

"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" said Hagrid hotly. "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all three of yeh - yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel -"

"Aha!" said Harry, "so there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?" Hagrid looked furious with himself.

They walked away, leaving Kagome and Kurama talk about how to groom things with Hagrid, and Kurama showing him where to get herbs to heal.


	6. Christmas

**_Christmas_**

Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow.

Kagome was humming cheerily with a santa hat, making few students look up at inspiration, especially Luna Lovegood.

The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban. The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver mail had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again.

No one could wait for the holidays to start. While the Gryffindor common room and the Great Hall had roaring fires, the drafty corridors had become icy and a bitter wind rattled the windows in the classrooms. Worst of all were Professor Snape's classes down in the dungeons, where their breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons.

"I do feel so sorry," said Draco Malfoy, one Potions class, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."

He was looking over at Harry as he spoke. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled. Harry, who was measuring out powdered spine of lionfish, ignored them. Malfoy had been even more unpleasant than usual since the Quidditch match. Disgusted that the Slytherins had lost, he had tried to get everyone laughing at how a wide-mouthed tree frog would be replacing Harry as Seeker next.

Then he'd realized that nobody found this funny, because they were all so impressed at the way Harry had managed to stay on his bucking broomstick.

So Malfoy, jealous and angry, had gone back to taunting Harry about having no proper family. It was true that Harry wasn't going back to Privet Drive for Christmas. Professor McGonagall had come around the week before, making a list of students who would be staying for the holidays, and Harry had signed up at once.

He didn't feel sorry for himself at all; this would probably be the best Christmas he'd ever had. Ron and his brothers were staying, too, because Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were going to Romania to visit Charlie. Kagome and Kurama was staying because their family was too far.

When they left the dungeons at the end of Potions, they found a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead. Two enormous feet sticking out at the bottom and a loud puffing sound told them that Hagrid was behind it.

"Hi, Hagrid, want any help?" Kurama asked, sticking his head through the branches.

"Nah, I'm all right, thanks, Kurama."

"Would you mind moving out of the way?" came Malfoys cold drawl from behind them. "Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose - that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to."

"You-" Kagome was cut off, because of Ron's actions.

Ron dived at Malfoy just as Snape came up the stairs.

"WEASLEY!" Ron let go of the front of Malfoy's robes.

"He was provoked, Professor Snape," said Hagrid, sticking his huge hairy face out from behind the tree. "Malfoy was insultin' his family."

"Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid," said Snape silkily. "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all of you. Now, Kagome, Kurama, please do not break any rules."

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere and smirking.

"I'll get him," said Ron, grinding his teeth at Malfoy's back, "one of these days, I'll get him -"

"I hate them both," said Harry, "Malfoy and Snape."

"Come on, cheer up, it's nearly Christmas," said Kurama and Kagome.

Hagrid said, "Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat."

So the three of them followed Hagrid and his tree off to -the Great Hall, where Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decorations.

"Ah, Hagrid, the last tree - put it in the far corner, would you? Kurama, Kagome, Ron, Hermione, and Harry, good to see you all" The hall looked spectacular. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls, and no less than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles.

"How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked.

"Just one," said Hermione. "And that reminds me -guys, we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."

"Oh yeah, you're right," said Ron, tearing his eyes away from Professor Flitwick, who had golden bubbles blossoming out of his wand and was trailing them over the branches of the new tree.

"The library?" said Hagrid, following them out of the hall. "Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?"

"Oh, we're not working," Kagome told him brightly. "Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel we've been trying to find out who he is."

"You what?" Hagrid looked shocked. "Listen here - I've told yeh - drop it. It's nothin' to you what that dog's guardin'."

"We just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is, that's all," said Hermione.

"Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble?" Harry added.

"We must've been through hundreds of books already and we can't find him anywhere - just give us a hint - I know I've read his name somewhere."

"I'm sayin' nothin, said Hagrid flatly.

"Just have to find out for ourselves, then," said Ron, and they left Hagrid looking disgruntled and hurried off to the library.

They had indeed been searching books for Flamel's name ever since Hagrid had let it slip, because how else were they going to find out what Snape was trying to steal? The trouble was, it was very hard to know where to begin, not knowing what Flamel might have done to get himself into a book.

He wasn't in Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century, or Notable Magical Names of Our Time; he was missing, too, from Important Modern Magical Discoveries, and A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry. And then, of course, there was the sheer size of the library; tens of thousands of books; thousands of shelves; hundreds of narrow rows.

Hermione took out a list of subjects and titles she had decided to search while Ron strode off down a row of books and started pulling them off the shelves at random. Harry wandered over to the Restricted Section. He had been wondering for a while if Flamel wasn't somewhere in  
there.

Unfortunately, you needed a specially signed note from one of the teachers to look in any of the restricted books, and he knew he'd never get one. These were the books containing powerful Dark Magic never taught at Hogwarts, and only read by older students studying advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"What are you looking for, boy?"

"Nothing," said Harry. Madam Pince the librarian brandished a feather duster at him. "You'd better get out, then. Go on - out!"

Wishing he'd been a bit quicker at thinking up some story, Harry left the library. They had already agreed they'd better not ask Madam Pince where they could find Flamel. They were sure she'd be able to tell them, but they couldn't risk anyone hearing what they were up to. Harry waited outside in the corridor to see if the other four had found anything, but he wasn't very hopeful.

They had been looking for two weeks, after tests, but as they only had odd moments between lessons it wasn't surprising they'd found nothing. What they really needed was a nice long search without Madam Pince breathing down their necks.

Five minutes later, Ron and Hermione joined him, shaking their heads. Kagome and Kurama, breathless, hadn't got any luck either.

They went off to lunch.

"You will keep looking while I'm away, won't you?" said Hermione. "And send me an owl if you find anything."

"And you could ask your parents if they know who Flamel is," said Kurama. "It'd be safe to ask them."

"Very safe, as they're both dentists," said Hermione.

Once the holidays had started, they were having too good a time to think much about Flamel. They had the dormitory to themselves and the common room was far emptier than usual, so they were able to get the good armchairs by the fire.

They sat by the hour eating anything they could spear on a toasting fork - bread, English muffins, marshmallows - and plotting ways of getting Malfoy expelled, which were fun to talk about even if they wouldn't work. After that, Kagome and Kurama went away working on their relationship.

Ron also started teaching Harry wizard chess. This was exactly like Muggle chess except that the figures were alive, which made it a lot like directing troops in battle. Ron's set was very old and battered.

Like everything else he owned, it had once belonged to someone else in his family - in this case, his grandfather. However, old chessmen weren't a drawback at all. Ron knew them so well he never had trouble getting them to do what he wanted.

Harry played with chessmen Kagome had lent him, and the pieces didn't trust him at all. He wasn't a very good player yet and they kept shouting different bits of advice at him, which was confusing.

"Don't send me there, can't you see his knight? Send him, we can afford to lose him."

On Christmas Eve, Harry went to bed looking forward to the next day for the food and the fun, but not expecting any presents at all. When he woke early in the morning, however, the first thing he saw was a small pile of packages at the foot of his bed.

"Merry Christmas," said Ron sleepily as Harry scrambled out of bed and pulled on his bathrobe.

Kagome was already in the room, with her unwrapped presents, in her hand, waiting for them to unwrap together.

"You, too," said Harry. "Will you look at this? I've got some presents!

" "What did you expect, turnips?" said Ron, turning to his own pile, which was a lot bigger than Harry's.

Kurama had a pile as big as Harry's and Kagome had one too.

Harry picked up the top parcel. It was wrapped in thick brown paper and scrawled across it was To Harry, from Hagrid. Inside was a roughly cut wooden flute.

Hagrid had obviously whittled it himself. Harry blew it - it sounded a bit like an owl. A second, very small parcel contained a note. We received your message and enclose your Christmas present. From Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. Taped to the note was a fifty-pence piece.

"That's friendly," said Harry. Ron was fascinated by the fifty pence. "Weird!" he said, "What a shape! This is money?"

"You can keep it," said Harry, laughing at how pleased Ron was. "Hagrid and my aunt and uncle - so who sent these?"

"I think I know who that one's from," said Ron, turning a bit pink and pointing to a very lumpy parcel.

"My mom. I told her you didn't expect any presents and - oh, no," he groaned, "she's made you a Weasley sweater."

Harry had torn open the parcel to find a thick, hand-knitted sweater in emerald green and a large box of homemade fudge.

"Every year she makes us a sweater," said Ron, unwrapping his own, "and mine's always maroon." "That's really nice of her," said Harry, trying the fudge, which was very tasty.

His next present also contained candy - a large box of Chocolate Frogs from Hermione.

Next, was a necklace that said 'the Holy evil Twin.' obviously from Kagome, it glittered and shown, and inside, was a picture of them, a mustache on Harry, and a monocle on Kagome. He had given Kagome an Anklet saying ' My amazing Evil Twin.' Kurama had given him a ton of candy.

This only left one parcel. Scrawled upon was Kagome and Harry.

"Hey Kagome! This is for us!" Harry picked it up and felt it. It was very light. He unwrapped it. Something fluid and silvery gray went slithering to the floor where it lay in gleaming folds. Ron gasped.

"I've heard of those," he said in a hushed voice, dropping the box of Every Flavor Beans he'd gotten from Hermione.

"If that's what I think it is - they're really rare, and really valuable."

"What is it?" Kagome asked , as she picked the shining, silvery cloth off the floor. It was strange to the touch, like water woven into material.

"It's an invisibility cloak," said Ron, a look of awe on his face. "I'm sure it is - try it on."


	7. Invvisibilty Cloak!

Harry threw the cloak around his shoulders and Kagome's head and Ron gave a yell.

"It is! Look down!"

The twins looked down at his feet, but they were gone. He dashed to the mirror. Sure enough, his reflection looked back at him, just his head suspended in midair, his body completely invisible. He pulled the cloak over his head and his reflection vanished completely.

"There's a note!" said Ron suddenly. "A note fell out of it!"

Harry pulled off the cloak from Kagome and him and seized the letter. Written in narrow, loopy writing he had never seen before were the following words: Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well. A Very Merry Christmas to you. There was no signature. Harry stared at the note. Ron was admiring the cloak.

'It's Dumbledore's Writing.' Kagome told him.

'Oh...' was all Harry could say before shutting the connection off.

"I'd give anything for one of these," he said. "Anything. What's the matter?"

"Nothing," said Harry. He felt very strange. Who had sent the cloak? Had it really once belonged to his father? Before he could say or think anything else, the dormitory door was flung open and Fred and George Weasley bounded in.

Kagome stuffed the cloak quickly out of sight. He didn't feel like sharing it with anyone else yet.

"Merry Christmas!"

"Hey, look - Harry's got a Weasley sweater, too!"

Fred and George were wearing blue sweaters, one with a large yellow F on it, the other a G.

"Harry's is better than ours, though," said Fred, holding up Harry's sweater.

"She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family."

"Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?" George demanded. "Come on, get it on, they're lovely and warm."

"Does Kurama or Kagome have one?" Kagome and Kurama shook their heads.

"I hate maroon," Ron moaned halfheartedly as he pulled it over his head.

"You haven't got a letter on yours," George observed. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid - we know we're called Gred and Forge."

"What's all the is noise!"

Percy Weasley stuck his head through the door, looking disapproving. He had clearly gotten halfway through unwrapping his presents as he, too, carried a lumpy sweater over his arm, which Fred seized.

"P for prefect! Get it on, Percy, come on, even Harry got one." Kagome said.

"I - don't - want said Percy thickly, as the twins forced the sweater over his head, knocking his glasses askew.

"And you're not sitting with the prefects today, either," said George. "Christmas is a time for family."

They frog-marched Percy from the room, his arms pinned to his side by his sweater.

Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce - and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table. These fantastic party favors were nothing like the feeble Muggle ones the Dursleys usually bought, with their little plastic toys and their flimsy paper hats inside. Harry pulled a wizard cracker with Kurama and it didn't just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a rear admiral's hat and several live, white mice.

Up at the High Table, Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard's hat for a flowered bonnet, and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him. Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Percy nearly broke his teeth on a silver sickle embedded in his slice. Harry watched Hagrid getting redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who, to Harry's and Kurama's amazement, giggled and blushed, her top hat lopsided.

When Harry finally left the table, he was laden down with a stack of things out of the crackers, including a pack of nonexplodable, luminous balloons, a Grow-Your-Own-Warts kit, and his own new wizard chess set. The white mice had disappeared and Harry had a nasty feeling they were going to end up as Mrs. Norris's Christmas dinner.

Harry ,Kurama, Kagome, and the Weasleys spent a happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight on the grounds. Then, cold, wet, and gasping for breath, they returned to the fire in the Gryffindor common room, where Harry broke in his new chess set by losing spectacularly to Kagome. He suspected he wouldn't have lost so badly if Percy hadn't tried to help him so much. After a meal of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, and Christmas cake, everyone felt too full and sleepy to do much before bed except sit and watch Percy chase Fred, Kurama, (No one expected him though...) and George all over Gryffindor tower because they'd stolen his prefect badge.

It had been Harry's best Christmas day ever. Yet something had been nagging at the back of his mind all day. Not until he climbed into bed was he free to think about it: the invisibility cloak and whoever had sent it. Ron, full of turkey and cake and with nothing mysterious to bother him, fell asleep almost as soon as he'd drawn the curtains of his four-poster.

Harry leaned over the side of his own bed and pulled the cloak out from under it. His father's... this had been his father's. He let the material flow over his hands, smoother than silk, light as air. Use it well, the note had said. He had to try it, now. He slipped out of bed and wrapped the cloak around himself. Looking down at his legs, he saw only moonlight and shadows. It was a very funny feeling. Use it well. Suddenly, Harry felt wide-awake.

The whole of Hogwarts was open to him in this cloak. Excitement flooded through him as he stood there in the dark and silence. He could go anywhere in this, anywhere, and Filch would never know.

Ron grunted in his sleep. Should Harry wake him? Something held him back - his father's cloak - he felt that this time - the first time - he wanted to use it alone. He crept out of the dormitory, down the stairs, across the common room, and ...

'Kagome...' Harry yelled through telepathically.

'Waaa?' Kagome grunted sleepily.

'Common room...Now!' Harry almost screamed.

Kagome trudged out sleepily in her pajamas, then fully awake after seeing the Invisibility Cloak.

"Let's go" was all Harry had to say before they dashed out.

"Who's there?" squawked the Fat Lady.

Harry and Kagome said nothing. They walked quickly down the corridor. Where should they go? He stopped, his heart racing, and thought. And then it came to him. The Restricted Section in the library. They would be able to read as long as he liked, as long as it took to find out who Flamel was.

"Nicolas Flamel, Restricted section." Harry whispered.

"Kay." Kagome merrily said.

They set off, drawing the invisibility cloak tight around him as he walked. The library was pitch-black and very eerie.

Harry lit a lamp to see his way along the rows of books. The lamp looked as if it was floating along in midair, and even though Harry knew Kagome was supporting it, the sight gave him the creeps. The Restricted Section was right at the back of the library. Stepping carefully over the rope that separated these books from the rest of the library, she held up his lamp to read the titles. They didn't tell them much.

Their peeling, faded gold letters spelled words in languages the Hell Twins couldn't understand.

Some had no title at all. One book had a dark stain on it that looked horribly like blood. The hairs on the back of Harry's neck prickled. Maybe he was imagining it, maybe not, but he thought a faint whispering was coming from the books, as though they knew someone was there who shouldn't be.

He had to start somewhere. Setting the lamp down carefully on the floor, he looked along the bottom shelf for an interestinglooking book. A large black and silver volume caught his eye. He pulled it out with difficulty, because it was very heavy, and, balancing it on their knee, let it fall open.

A piercing, bloodcurdling shriek split the silence - the book was screaming! Harry and Kagome at once snapped it shut, but the shriek went on and on, one high, unbroken, earsplitting note. He stumbled backward and knocked over his lamp, which went out at once. Panicking, he heard footsteps coming down the corridor outside - stuffing the shrieking book back on the shelf, he ran for it.

They passed Filch in the doorway; Filch's pale, wild eyes looked straight through them, and Kagome slipped under Filch's outstretched arm and streaked off together up the corridor, the book's shrieks still ringing in their ears.

He came to a sudden halt in front of a tall suit of armor. He had been so busy getting away from the library, he hadn't paid attention to where he was going. Perhaps because it was dark, he didn't recognize where he was at all. There was a suit of armor near the kitchens, he knew, but he must be five floors above there.

"You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library Restricted Section."

Harry felt the blood drain out of his face.

Wherever he was, Filch must know a shortcut, because his soft, greasy voice was getting nearer, and to his horror, it was Snape who replied, "The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them."

Harry stood rooted to the spot as Filch and Snape came around the corner ahead. They couldn't see them, of course, but it was a narrow corridor and if they came much nearer they'd knock right into him - the cloak didn't stop him from being solid.

He backed away as quietly as he could. A door stood ajar to his left. It was his only hope. He squeezed Kagome's hand and they squeezed through it, holding their breaths, trying not to move it, and to his relief they managed to get inside the room without their noticing anything. They walked straight past, and Kagome leaned against the wall, breathing deeply, listening to their footsteps dying away.

That had been close, very close. It was a few seconds before he noticed anything about the room they had hidden in. It looked like an unused classroom. The dark shapes of desks and chairs were piled against the walls, and there was an upturned wastepaper basket - but propped against the wall facing him was something that didn't look as if it belonged there, something that looked as if someone had just put it there to keep it out of the way.


	8. Nicolas Flamel

"Hey Harry look..." Kagome noted to him.

It was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. There was an inscription carved around the top: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.

Their panic fading now that there was no sound of Filch and Snape, Harry moved nearer to the mirror, wanting to look at himself but see no reflection again. He stepped in front of it. He had to clap his hands to his mouth to stop himself from screaming. He whirled around. His heart was pounding far more furiously than when the book had screamed - for he had seen not only himself in the mirror, but a whole crowd of people standing right behind him. But the room was empty. Breathing very fast, he turned slowly back to the mirror.

There he was, reflected in it, white and scared-looking, and there, reflected behind him, were at least ten others. Harry looked over his shoulder - but still, no one was there. Or were they all invisible, too? Was he in fact in a room full of invisible people and this mirror's trick was that it reflected them, invisible or not?

He looked in the mirror again. A woman standing right behind his reflection was smiling at him and waving. He reached out a hand and felt the air behind him. If she was really there, he'd touch her, their reflections were so close together, but he felt only air - she and the others existed only in the mirror. She was a very pretty woman. She had dark red hair and her eyes - her eyes are just like mine, Harry thought, edging a little closer to the glass. Bright green - exactly the same shape, but then he noticed that she was crying; smiling, but crying at the same time.

The tall, thin, black-haired man standing next to her put his arm around her. He wore glasses, and his hair was very untidy. It stuck up at the back, just as Harry's did. Harry was so close to the mirror now that his nose was nearly touching that of his reflection.

"Mom?" he whispered. "Dad?" "Kagome?" They just looked at him, smiling. And slowly, Harry looked into the faces of the other people in the mirror, and saw other pairs of green eyes like his, other noses like his, even a little old man who looked as though he had Harry's knobbly knees - Harry was looking at his family, for the first time in his life.

On the other side of him, Kagome was whispering, "Kurama? Mom? Dad? Harry?"

The Potters smiled and waved at Harry and he stared hungrily back at them, his hands pressed flat against the glass as though he was hoping to fall right through it and reach them. He had a powerful kind of ache inside him, half joy, half terrible sadness. How long he stood there, he didn't know. The reflections did not fade and he looked and looked until a distant noise brought him back to his senses.

They couldn't stay here, he had to find his way back to bed.

'Harry... Now.' said Kagome showing each other's visions.

He tore his eyes away from his mother's face, whispered, "I'll come back," and hurried from the room.

"You guys could have woken me up," said Ron, crossly.

"You can come tonight, I'm going back, I want to show you the mirror."

"I'd like to see your mom and dad," Ron said eagerly.

"And I want to see all your family, all the Weasleys, you'll be able to show me your other brothers and everyone."

"You can see them any old time," said Ron. "Just come round my house this summer. Anyway, maybe it only shows dead people. Shame about not finding Flamel, though. Have some bacon or something, why aren't you eating anything?"

Harry couldn't eat. He had seen his parents and would be seeing them again tonight. He had almost forgotten about Flamel. It didn't seem very important anymore. Who cared what the three headed dog was guarding? What did it matter if Snape stole it, really?

"Are you all right?" said Ron. "You look odd."

What Kagome now feared most was that he might not be able to find the mirror room again.

With Harry, Kagome, Ron and Kurama covered in the cloak, too, they had to walk much more slowly the next night. Their They tried retracing Harry's route from the library, wandering around the dark passageways for nearly an hour.

"I'm freezing," said Ron and Kurama. "Let's forget it and go back."

"No!" Harry and Kagome hissed. I know it's here somewhere." They passed the ghost of a tall witch gliding in the opposite direction, but saw no one else. just as Ron started moaning that his feet were dead with cold, Harry spotted the suit of armor.

"It's here - just here - yes!"

They pushed the door open. Harry dropped the cloak from around his shoulders and ran to the mirror. There they were. His mother and father beamed at the sight of him.

"See?" Harry whispered.

"I can't see anything." Ron and Kurama whispered.

"Look! Look at them all... there are loads of them..."

"I can only see you."

"Look in it properly, go on, stand where I am." Harry stepped aside, but with Ron in front of the mirror, he couldn't see his family anymore, just Kurama,Ron in his paisley pajamas, but Kagome was in the mirror smiling.

Ron, though, was staring transfixed at his image.

"Look at me!" he said. "Can you see all your family standing around you?"

"No... I see Kagome and I with a child..." Kurama said, hesitantly.

"No - I'm alone - but I'm different - I look older - and I'm head boy!"

"What?" "I am - I'm wearing the badge like Bill used to - and I'm holding the house cup and the Quidditch cup - I'm Quidditch captain, too." Ron tore his eyes away from this splendid sight to look excitedly at Harry.

"Do you think this mirror shows the future?"

"How can it? All my family are dead - let me have another look -"

"You had it to yourself all last night, give me a bit more time."

"You're only holding the Quidditch cup, what's interesting about that? I want to see my parents."

"Don't push me -" A sudden noise outside in the corridor put an end to their discussion. They hadn't realized how loudly they had been talking.

"Quick!" Kagome threw the cloak back over them as the luminous eyes of Mrs. Norris came round the door. They stood quite still, both thinking the same thing - did the cloak work on cats? After what seemed an age, she turned and left.

"This isn't safe - she might have gone for Filch, I bet she heard us. Come on." And Ron pulled the other three out of the room. The snow still hadn't melted the next morning.

"Want to play chess, Harry?" said Ron.

"No."

"Why don't we go down and visit Hagrid?"

"No... you go..."

"I know what you're thinking about, Harry, that mirror. Don't go back tonight."

"Why not?"

"I dunno, I've just got a bad feeling about it - and anyway, you've had too many close shaves already. Filch, Snape, and Mrs. Norris are wandering around. So what if they can't see you? What if they walk into you? What if you knock something over?"

"You sound like Hermione."

"I'm serious, Harry, don't go." But Harry and Kagome only had one thought in his head, which was to get back in front of the mirror, and Ron wasn't going to stop him.

That third night they found his way more quickly than before. He was walking so fast he knew he was making more noise than was wise, but he didn't meet anyone. And there were his mother and father smiling at him again, and one of his grandfathers nodding happily. Harry sank down to sit on the floor in front of the mirror. There was nothing to stop him from staying here all night with his family.

Nothing at all. Except -

"So - back again, Harry and Kagome, the Twins that Lived?" They felt as though his insides had turned to ice. Harry looked behind them. Sitting on one of the desks by the wall was none other than Albus Dumbledore. Harry must have walked straight past him, so desperate to get to the mirror he hadn't noticed him. " - I didn't see you, sir." "Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you," said Dumbledore, and Harry was relieved to see that he was smiling. "So," said Dumbledore, slipping off the desk to sit on the floor with Harry, "you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised." "I didn't know it was called that, Sir."

"But I expect you've realized by now what it does?"

"It - well - it shows me my family -"

"And it showed your friend Ron himself as head boy, and Kurama with Kagome."

"How did you know -?" Kagome asked.

"I don't need a cloak to become invisible," said Dumbledore gently. "Now, can you think what the Mirror of Erised shows us all?"

Harry shook his head.

"Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?"

Kagome thought. Then she said slowly, "It shows us what we want... whatever we want..."

"Yes and no," said Dumbledore quietly. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of all of them. Shuichi Minanimino, who is jealous by far, has his desire for Kagome and him together. However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible. The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, Kagome, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever do run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now, why don't you put that admirable cloak back on and get off to bed?"

Kagome and Harry stood up. "Sir - Grandpa Dumbledore? Can I ask you something?"

"Obviously, you've just done so," Dumbledore smiled. "You may ask me one more thing, however."

"What do you see when you look in the mirror?"

"I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."

Kagome wondered, this is obviously not true. Harry stared.

' I don't think so...' Harry said.

"One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books."

It was only when he was back in bed that it struck Harry that Dumbledore might not have been quite truthful. Now, he believed Kagome. But then, he thought, as he shoved Scabbers off his pillow, it had been quite a personal question.


	9. THE amazing chocolate frog discovery

**In the Morning**

Kurama ate a chocolate frog and then said,

"Guys... I've found him!" he whispered. "I've found Flamel! I told you I'd read the name somewhere before, I read it on the train coming here - listen to this: 'Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel'!

Hermione jumped to her feet. She hadn't looked so excited since they'd gotten back the marks for their very first piece of homework.

"Stay there!" she said, and she sprinted up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. Everyone barely had time to exchange mystified looks before she was dashing back, an enormous old book in her arms, and a sleepy Kagome.

"I never thought to look in here!" she whispered excitedly. "I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading."

"Waa?" Kagome murmured before snapping at the mention of:

"Nicolas Flamel... We found him. And what's Light?" said Ron, but Hermione told him to be quiet until she'd looked something up, and started flicking frantically through the pages, muttering to herself.

At last she found what she was looking for.

"I knew it! I knew it!"

"Are we allowed to speak yet?" said Ron grumpily. Hermione ignored him.

"Nicolas Flamel," she whispered dramatically, "is the only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone!" This didn't have quite the effect she'd expected.

"The what?" said everyone.

"Oh, honestly, don't you two read? Look - read that, there." She pushed the book toward them, and they read: The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Sorcerer's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal. There have been many reports of the Sorcerer's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight).

"See?" said Hermione, when everyone had finished.

"The dog must be guarding Flamel's Sorcerer's Stone! I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it, that's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!" "A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying!" said Kagome.

"No wonder Snape's after it! Anyone would want it." Kurama then concluded.

"And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in that Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry," said Ron. "He's not exactly recent if he's six hundred and sixty-five, is he?"

The next morning in Defense Against the Dark Arts, while copying down different ways of treating werewolf bites, everyone were still discussing what they'd do with a Sorcerer's Stone if they had one. It wasn't until Ron said he'd buy his own Quidditch team that Harry remembered about Snape and the coming match.

"We're going to play," Harry, Kagome, and Kurama told Ron and Hermione. "If we don't, all the Slytherins will think I'm just too scared to face Snape. We'll show them... it'll really wipe the smiles off their faces if we win."

"Just as long as we're not wiping you off the field," said Hermione.

As the match drew nearer, however, Harry became more and more nervous. The rest of the team wasn't too calm, either. The idea of overtaking Slytherin in the house championship was wonderful, no one had done it for seven years, but would they be allowed to, with such a biased referee? Harry didn't know whether he was imagining it or not, but he seemed to keep running into Snape wherever he went. Well, at least Snape won't harm Kagome nor Kurama.

At times, he even wondered whether Snape was following him, trying to catch him on his own. Potions lessons were turning into a sort of weekly torture, Snape was so horrible to Harry. Could Snape possibly know they'd found out about the Sorcerer's Stone? Harry didn't see how he could - yet he sometimes had the horrible feeling that Snape could read minds. Harry knew, when they wished him good luck outside the locker rooms the next afternoon, that Ron and Hermione were wondering whether they'd ever see him alive again. This wasn't what you'd call comforting.

Harry hardly heard a word of Wood's pep talk as he pulled on his Quidditch robes and picked up his Nimbus Two Thousand. Ron and Hermione, meanwhile, had found a place in the stands next to Neville, who couldn't understand why they looked so grim and worried, or why they had both brought their wands to the match. Little did Harry, Kurama, and Kagome know that Ron,Inuyasha, Hiei, Sesshomaru and Hermione had been secretly practicing the Leg-Locker Curse. They'd gotten the idea from Malfoy using it on Neville, and were ready to use it on Snape if he showed any sign of wanting to hurt Harry.

"Now, don't forget, it's Locomotor Mortis," Hermione muttered as Ron slipped his wand up his sleeve.

"I know," Ron snapped.

"Don't nag."

Back in the locker room, Wood had taken Harry aside. "Don't want to pressure you, Potter, but if we ever need an early capture of the Snitch it's now. Finish the game before Snape can favor Hufflepuff too much."

"The whole school's out there!" said Kagome, peering out of the door. "Even - blimey - Dumbledore's come to watch!" Harry's and Kagome's heart did a somersault.

"Dumbledore?" they said, dashing to the door to make sure. Fred was right. There was no mistaking that silver beard. Harry could have laughed out loud with relief He was safe. There was simply no way that Snape would dare to try to hurt him if Dumbledore was watching. Perhaps that was why Snape was looking so angry as the teams marched onto the field, something that Ron noticed, too.

"I've never seen Snape look so mean," he told Hermione. "Look -they're off Ouch!"

Someone had poked Ron in the back of the head. It was Malfoy. "Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there." Malfoy grinned broadly at Crabbe and Goyle.

"Wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time? Anyone want a bet? What about you, Weasley?"

Ron didn't answer; Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because George Weasley had hit a Bludger at him. Hermione, who had all her fingers crossed in her lap, was squinting fixedly at Harry, who was circling the game like a hawk, looking for the Snitch.

"You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?" said Malfoy loudly a few minutes later, as Snape awarded Hufflepuff another penalty for no reason at all.

"It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasleys, who've got no money - you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains." Neville went bright red but turned in his seat to face Malfoy.

"I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy," he stammered.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle howled with laughter, but Ron, still not daring to take his eyes from the game, said, "You tell him, Neville."

"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something." Ron's nerves were already stretched to the breaking point with anxiety about Harry.

"I'm warning you, Malfoy - one more word.."

Inuyasha punched and gutted at Malfoy. Hiei started to break his leg bones, and Inuyasha held him down.

"ENOUGH! HIEI ADND INUYASHA TO THE OFFICE NOW!" McGonagall yelled, as Malfoy cried and fainted.

They went, later expelled for the rest of the school year.

"Ron!" said Hermione suddenly, "Harry -"

"What? Where?"

Harry had suddenly gone into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd. Hermione stood up, her crossed fingers in her mouth, as Harry streaked toward the ground like a bullet.

"You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!" said Crabbe. Ron snapped. Before Crabbe knew what was happening, Ron was on top of him, wrestling him to the ground. Neville hesitated, then clambered over the back of his seat to help.

"Come on, Harry!" Hermione screamed, leaping onto her seat to watch as Harry sped straight at Snape - she didn't even notice Crabbe and Ron rolling around under her seat, or the scuffles and yelps coming from the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe, and Harry. Up in the air, Snape turned on his broomstick just in time to see something scarlet shoot past him, missing him by inches - the next second, Harry had pulled out of the dive, his arm raised in triumph, the Snitch clasped in his hand. The stands erupted; it had to be a record, no one could ever remember the Snitch being caught so quickly.

"Ron! Ron! Where are you? The game's over! Harry's won! We've won! Gryffindor is in the lead!" shrieked Hermione, dancing up and down on her seat and hugging Parvati Patil in the row in front.

Kagome, Kurama, and Harry jumped off his broom, a foot from the ground.

Harry couldn't believe it. He'd done it - the game was over; it had barely lasted five minutes. As Gryffindors came spilling onto the field, he saw Snape land nearby, white-faced and tight-lipped - then Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Kagome's smiling face.

"Well done," said Kagome quietly, so that only Harry could hear. "Nice to see you haven't been brooding about that mirror... been keeping busy... excellent..."

Snape spat bitterly on the ground. Harry left the locker room alone some time later, to take his Nimbus Two Thousand back to the broomshed. He couldn't ever remember feeling happier. He'd really done something to be proud of now - no one could say he was just a famous name any more. The evening air had never smelled so sweet.

He walked over the damp grass, reliving the last hour in his head, which was a happy blur: Gryffindors running to lift him onto their shoulders; his best friends in the distance, jumping up and down, Ron cheering through a heavy nosebleed. Harry had reached the shed. He leaned against the wooden door and looked up at Hogwarts, with its windows glowing red in the setting sun. Gryffindor in the lead.

He'd done it, he'd shown Snape... And speaking of Snape... A hooded figure came swiftly down the front steps of the castle. Clearly not wanting to be seen, it walked as fast as possible toward the forbidden forest. Harry's victory faded from his mind as he watched. He recognized the figure's prowling walk. Snape, sneaking into the forest while everyone else was at dinner - what was going on? Harry jumped back on his Nimbus Two Thousand and took off. Gliding silently over the castle he saw Snape enter the forest at a run. He followed. The trees were so thick he couldn't see where Snape had gone. He flew in circles, lower and lower, brushing the top branches of trees until he heard voices. He glided toward them and landed noiselessly in a towering beech tree. He climbed carefully along one of the branches, holding tight to his broomstick, trying to see through the leaves.

**'Kagome..' Harry said, but his connection was bad..**

**_'I-I w-wa?" Kagome's connection was lost._**

Below, in a shadowy clearing, stood Snape, but he wasn't alone. Quirrell was there, too. Harry couldn't make out the look on his face, but he was stuttering worse than ever. Harry strained to catch what they were saying.

"... D-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus..."

"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private," said Snape, his voice icy. "Students aren't supposed to know about the Sorcerer's Stone, after all."

Harry leaned forward. Quirrell was mumbling something. Snape interrupted him.

"Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?"

"B-b-but Severus, I -"

"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," said Snape, taking a step toward him.

"I-I don't know what you-"

"You know perfectly well what I mean."

An owl hooted loudly, and Harry nearly fell out of the tree. He steadied himself in time to hear Snape say,

"- your little bit of hocus-pocus. I'm waiting."

"B-but I d-d-don't -"

"Very well," Snape cut in. "We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie." He threw his cloak over his head and strode out of the clearing. It was almost dark now, but Harry could see Quirrell, standing quite still as though he was petrified.

"Harry, where have you been?" Kagome squeaked, hugging him. "We won! You won! We won!" shouted Kurama, thumping Harry on the back.

"And Inuyasha gave Malfoy a black eye and broken ribs, and Hiei broke his feet bones, and Neville tried to take on Crabbe and Goyle single-handed! He's still out cold but Madam Pomftey says he'll be all right - talk about showing Slytherin! Everyone's waiting for you in the common room, we're having a party, Fred, Kagome, Kurama, and George stole some cakes and stuff from the kitchens."

"Uh... by the way... where is that Inubaka?" Kurama asked.

"Inubaka." sniggered Kagome.

"Never mind that now," said Harry breathlessly.

"Let's find an empty room, you wait 'til you hear this..." He made sure Peeves wasn't inside before shutting the door behind them, then he told them what he'd seen and heard.

"So we were right, it is the Sorcerer's Stone, and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it. He asked if he knew how to get past Fluffy - and he said something about Quirrell's 'hocus pocuss- I reckon there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to break through -"Kagome concluded.

"So you mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" said Kurama in alarm.

"It'll be gone by next Tuesday," said Ron.

**Rate and Review... Please? **


	10. Into the Door

**The Plan... HOLYYYY**

Out on the stone steps, Harry turned to the others.

"Right, here's what we've got to do," he whispered urgently.

"One of us has got to keep an eye on Snape - wait outside the staff room and follow him if he leaves it. Hermione, you'd better do that."

"Why me?"

"It's obvious," said Ron. "You can pretend to be waiting for Professor Flitwick, you know." He put on a high voice, "'Oh Professor Flitwick, I'm so worried, I think I got question fourteen b wrong...'"

"Oh, shut up," said Hermione, but she agreed to go and watch out for Snape.

"And we'd better stay outside the third-floor corridor," Harry told Ron.

"Come on." But that part of the plan didn't work. No sooner had they reached the door separating Fluffy from the rest of the school than Professor McGonagall turned up again and this time, she lost her temper.

"I suppose you think you're harder to get past than a pack of enchantments!" she stormed. "Enough of this nonsense! If I hear you 've come anywhere near here again, I'll take another fifty points from Gryffindor! Yes, Weasley, from my own house!"

Harry and Ron went back to the common room, Harry had just said, "At least Hermione's on Snape's tail," when the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open and Hermione came in.

"I'm sorry, Harry!" she wailed. "Snape came out and asked me what I was doing, so I said I was waiting for Flitwick, and Snape went to get him,  
and I've only just got away, I don't know where Snape went."

"Well, that's it then, isn't it?" Harry said. The other two stared at him. He was pale and his eyes were glittering.

"I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Stone first."

"You're mad!" said Ron. "You can't!" said Hermione. "After what McGonagall and Snape have said? You'll be expelled!"

"SO WHAT" Harry shouted.

"Don't you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn't matter anymore, can't you see? D'you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wins the house cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I'll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait for Voldemort to find me there, it's only dying a bit later than I would have, because I'm never going over to the Dark Side! I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?" He glared at them.

"You're right Harry," said Hermione in a small voice

. "I'll use the invisibility cloak," said Harry. "It's just lucky I got it back."

"But will it cover all three of us?" said Ron. "I mean we grew taller!?"

"Oh, come off it, you don't think we'd let you go alone?"

"Of course not," said Hermione briskly. "How do you think you'd get to the Stone without us? I'd better go and took through my books, there might be something useful..."

"But if we get caught, you two will be expelled, too."

"Not if I can help it," said Hermione grimly. "Flitwick told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve percent on his exam. They're not throwing me out after that."

'Kagome... I'll miss you. I hope you understand...' Thought Harry.

After dinner the three of them sat nervously apart in the common room. Nobody bothered them; none of the Gryffindors had anything to say to Harry any more, after all. No one even noticed that Kurama, Hiei, Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, nor Kagome was missing. This was the first night he hadn't been upset by it.

Hermione was skimming through all her notes, hoping to come across one of the enchantments they were about to try to break. Harry and Ron didn't talk much. Both of them were thinking about what they were about to do. Slowly, the room emptied as people drifted off to bed.

"Better get the cloak," Ron muttered, as Lee Jordan finally left, stretching and yawning. Harry ran upstairs to their dark dormitory. He putted out the cloak and then his eyes fell on the flute Hagrid had given him for Christmas. He pocketed it to use on Fluffy - he didn't feel much like singing. He ran back down to the common room.

"We'd better put the cloak on here, and make sure it covers all three of us - if Filch spots one of our feet wandering along on its own -"

"What are you doing?" said a voice from the corner of the room. Neville appeared from behind an armchair, clutching Trevor the toad, who looked as though he'd been making another bid for freedom.

"Nothing, Neville, nothing," said Harry, hurriedly putting the cloak behind his back. Neville stared at their guilty faces.

"You're going out again," he said. "No, no, no," said Hermione. "No, we're not. Why don't you go to bed, Neville?"

Harry looked at the grandfather clock by the door. They couldn't afford to waste any more time, Snape might even now be playing Fluffy to sleep.

"You can't go out," said Neville, "you'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble."

"You don't understand," said Harry, "this is important."

But Neville was clearly steeling himself to do something desperate. I won't let you do it," he said, hurrying to stand in front of the portrait hole. "I'll - I'll fight you!"

"Neville, "Ron exploded, "get away from that hole and don't be an idiot -"

"Don't you call me an idiot!" said Neville. "I don't think you should be breaking any more rules! And you were the one who told me to stand up to people!"

"Yes, but not to us," said Ron in exasperation.

"Neville, you don't know what you're doing." He took a step forward and Neville dropped Trevor the toad, who leapt out of sight.

"Go on then, try and hit me!" said Neville, raising his fists.

"I'm ready!" Harry turned to Hermione.

"Do something," he said desperately. Hermione stepped forward.

"Neville," she said, "I'm really, really sorry about this." She raised her wand.

"Petrificus Totalus!" she cried, pointing it at Neville. Neville's arms snapped to his sides.

Hermione ran to turn him over. Neville's jaws were jammed together so he couldn't speak. Only his eyes were moving, looking at them in horror.

"What've you done to him?" Harry whispered. "It's the full Body-Bind," said Hermione miserably. "Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry."

"We had to, Neville, no time to explain," said Harry.

"You'll understand later, Neville," said Ron as they stepped over him and pulled on the invisibility cloak.

But leaving Neville lying motionless on the floor didn't feel like a very good omen. In their nervous state, every statue's shadow looked like Filch, every distant breath of wind sounded like Peeves swooping down on them. At the foot of the first set of stairs, they spotted Mrs. Norris skulking near the top. "Oh, let's kick her, just this once," Ron whispered in Harry's ear, but Harry shook his head. As they climbed carefully around her, Mrs. Norris turned her lamplike eyes on them, but didn't do anything. They didn't meet anyone else until they reached the staircase up to the third floor. Peeves was bobbing halfway up, loosening the carpet so that people would trip.

"Who's there?" he said suddenly as they climbed toward him. He narrowed his wicked black eyes.

"Know you're there, even if I can't see you. Are you ghoulie or ghostie or wee student beastie?" He rose up in the air and floated there, squinting at them.

"Should call Filch, I should, if something's a-creeping around unseen." Harry had a sudden idea.

"Peeves," he said, in a hoarse whisper, "the Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible." Peeves almost fell out of the air in shock. He caught himself in time and hovered about a foot off the stairs.

"So sorry, your bloodiness, Mr. Baron, Sir," he said greasily. "My mistake, my mistake - I didn't see you - of course I didn't, you're invisible - forgive old Peevsie his little joke, sir."

"I have business here, Peeves," croaked Harry. "Stay away from this place tonight."

"I will, sir, I most certainly will," said Peeves, rising up in the air again. "Hope your business goes well, Baron, I'll not bother you."

And he scooted off...

"Brilliant, Harry!" whispered Ron. A few seconds later, they were there, outside the third-floor corridor - and the door was already ajar.

"Well, there you are," Harry said quietly, "Snape's already got past Fluffy."

Seeing the open door somehow seemed to impress upon all three of them what was facing them. Underneath the cloak, Harry turned to the other two. "If you want to go back, I won't blame you," he said. "You can take the cloak, I won't need it now." "Don't be stupid," said Ron. "We're coming," said Hermione. Harry pushed the door open. As the door creaked, low, rumbling growls met their ears. All three of the dog's noses sniffed madly in their direction, even though it couldn't see them.

"What's that at its feet?" Hermione whispered.

"Looks like a harp," said Ron. "Snape must have left it there."

"It must wake up the moment you stop playing," said Harry. "Well, here goes..."

He put Hagrid's flute to his lips and blew. It wasn't really a tune, but from the first note the beast's eyes began to droop. Harry hardly drew breath. Slowly, the dog's growls ceased - it tottered on its paws and fell to its knees, then it slumped to the ground, fast asleep.

"Keep playing," Ron warned Harry as they slipped out of the cloak and crept toward the trapdoor.

They could feel the dog's hot, smelly breath as they approached the giant heads.

"I think we'll be able to pull the door open," said Ron, peering over the dog's back.

"Want to go first, Hermione?"

"No, I don't!"

"All right." Ron gritted his teeth and stepped carefully over the dog's legs. He bent and pulled the ring of the trapdoor, which swung up and open.

"What can you see?" Hermione said anxiously.

"Nothing - just black - there's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop."

Harry, who was still playing the flute, waved at Ron to get his attention and pointed at himself.

"You want to go first? Are you sure?" said Ron.

"I don't know how deep this thing goes. Give the flute to Hermione so she can keep him asleep." Harry handed the flute over.

In the few seconds' silence, the dog growled and twitched, but the moment Hermione began to play, it fell back into its deep sleep. Harry climbed over it and looked down through the trapdoor. There was no sign of the bottom. He lowered himself through the hole until he was hanging on by his fingertips. Then he looked up at Ron and said, "If anything happens to me, don't follow. Go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, right?"

"Right," said Ron.

"See you in a minute, I hope... And Harry let go. Cold, damp air rushed past him as he fell down, down, down and - FLUMP. With a funny, muffled sort of thump he landed on something soft. He sat up and felt around, his eyes not used to the gloom. It felt as though he was sitting on some sort of plant.

"It's okay!" he called up to the light the size of a postage stamp, which was the open trapdoor, "it's a soft landing, you can jump!"

Ron followed right away. He landed, sprawled next to Harry.

"What's this stuff?" were his first words.

"Dunno, some sort of plant thing. I suppose it's here to break the fall. Come on, Hermione!"

The distant music stopped. There was a loud bark from the dog, but Hermione had already jumped. She landed on Harry's other side.

"We must be miles under the school , she said. "Lucky this plant thing's here, really," said Ron.

"Lucky!" shrieked Hermione. "Look at you both!"

She leapt up and struggled toward a damp wall. She had to struggle because the moment she had landed, the plant had started to twist snakelike tendrils around her ankles. As for Harry and Ron, their legs had already been bound tightly in long creepers without their noticing. Hermione had managed to free herself before the plant got a firm grip on her. Now she watched in horror as the two boys fought to pull the plant off them, but the more they strained against it, the tighter and faster the plant wound around them.

"Stop moving!" Hermione ordered them. "I know what this is - it's Devil's Snare!"

"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help," snarled Ron, leaning back, trying to stop the plant from curling around his neck. "Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" said Hermione.

"Well, hurry up, I can't breathe!" Harry gasped, wrestling with it as it curled around his chest.

"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare... what did Professor Sprout say? - it likes the dark and the damp "So light a fire!" Harry choked.

"Yes - of course - but there's no wood!" Hermione cried, wringing her hands.

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron bellowed. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?"

"Oh, right!" said Hermione, and she whipped out her wand, waved it, muttered something, and sent a jet of the same bluebell flames she had used on Snape at the plant. In a matter of seconds, the two boys felt it loosening its grip as it cringed away from the light and warmth. Wriggling and flailing, it unraveled itself from their bodies, and they were able to pull free.

"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hermione," said Harry as he joined her by the wall, wiping sweat off his face.

"Yeah," said Ron, "and lucky Harry doesn't lose his head in a crisis - 'there's no wood,' honestly."

"This way," said Harry, pointing down a stone passageway, which was the only way forward. All they could hear apart from their footsteps was the gentle drip of water trickling down the walls. The passageway sloped downward, and Harry was reminded of Gringotts. With an unpleasant jolt of the heart, he remembered the dragons said to be guarding vaults in the wizards' bank. If they met a dragon, a fully-grown dragon - Norbert had been bad enough...

"Can you hear something?" Ron whispered. Harry listened. A soft rustling and clinking seemed to be coming from up ahead. "Do you think it's a ghost?..."


	11. Two Faced Monster

"You!" gasped Harry.

Quirrell smiled. His face wasn't twitching at all, except for the fact his leg and arm was twisted.

"Me," he said calmly. "I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Potter."

"But I thought - Snape - What happened to them"

"Severus?" Quirrell laughed, and it wasn't his usual quivering treble, either, but cold and sharp. "Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat. Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell? Oh yes, and Kurama, wouldn't be wanting to wake up for a long... long... time. Kagome just has an overwhelming little situation that can dominate her large heart She, fortunately will be spared. She is Voldemort's daughter.."

Harry couldn't take it in. This couldn't be true, it couldn't.

Kagome seemed to turn a bit, and Harry saw she was unconscious and had bleeding wounds on her legs.

'_Oh Kaggie... Please don't die on your older brother..." Harry thought._

"But Snape tried to kill me!"

What Harry meant to say was, "Kagome is my freaking twin and that bastard is my dad? Horrible!"

"No, no, no. I tried to kill you. Your friend Miss Granger accidentally knocked me over as she rushed to set fire to Snape at that Quidditch match. She broke my eye contact with you. Another few seconds and I'd have got you off that broom. I'd have managed it before then if Snape hadn't been muttering a countercurse, trying to save you."

"Snape was trying to save me?"

"Of course," said Quirrell coolly.

"Why do you think he wanted to referee your next match? He was trying to make sure I didn't do it again. Funny, really... he needn't have bothered. I couldn't do anything with Dumbledore watching. All the other teachers thought Snape was trying to stop Gryffindor from winning, he did make himself unpopular... and what a waste of time, when after all that, I'm going to kill you tonight."

Quirrell snapped his fingers. Ropes sprang out of thin air and wrapped themselves tightly around Harry.

"You're too nosy to live, Potter. Scurrying around the school on Halloween like that, for all I knew you'd seen me coming to look at what was guarding the Stone."

"You let the troll in?"

"Certainly. I have a special gift with trolls - you must have seen what I did to the one in the chamber back there? Unfortunately, while everyone else was running around looking for it, Snape, who already suspected me, went straight to the third floor to head me off - and not only did my troll fail to beat you to death, that three-headed dog didn't even manage to bite Snape's leg off properly. "

"Now, wait quietly, Potter. I need to examine this interesting mirror. It was only then that Harry realized what was standing behind Quirrell. It was the Mirror of Erised.

"This mirror is the key to finding the Stone," Quirrell murmured, tapping his way around the frame.

"Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this... but he's in London... I'll be far away by the time he gets back..." All Harry could think of doing was to keep Quirrell talking and stop him from concentrating on the mirror.

"I saw you and Snape in the forest -" he blurted out.

"Yes," said Quirrell idly, walking around the mirror to look at the back. "He was on to me by that time, trying to find out how far I'd got. He suspected me all along. Tried to frighten me - as though he could, when I had Lord Voldemort on my side..."

Quirrell came back out from behind the mirror and stared hungrily into it. "I see the Stone... I'm presenting it to my master... but where is it?"

Harry struggled against the ropes binding him, but they didn't give.

He had to keep Quirrell from giving his whole attention to the mirror. "But Snape always seemed to hate me so much."

"Oh, he does," said Quirrell casually, "heavens, yes. He was at Hogwarts with your father, didn't you know? They loathed each other. But he never wanted you dead." "But I heard you a few days ago, sobbing - I thought Snape was threatening you..."

For the first time, a spasm of fear flitted across Quirrell's face.

"Sometimes," he said, "I find it hard to follow my master's instructions - he is a great wizard and I am weak -"

"You mean he was there in the classroom with you?" Harry gasped.

"He is with me wherever I go," said Quirrell quietly. "I met him when I traveled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it... Since then, I have served him faithfully, although I have let him down many times. He has had to be very hard on me."

Quirrell shivered suddenly. "He does not forgive mistakes easily. When I failed to steal the stone from Gringotts, he was most displeased. He punished me... decided he would have to keep a closer watch on me..."

Quirrell's voice trailed away. Harry was remembering his trip to Diagon Alley -how could he have been so stupid? He'd seen Quirrell there that very day, shaken hands with him in the Leaky Cauldron. Quirrell cursed under his breath.

"I don't understand... is the Stone inside the mirror? Should I break it?"

Harry's mind was racing. What I want more than anything else in the world at the moment, he thought, is to find the Stone before Quirrell does. So if I look in the mirror, I should see myseff finding it - which means I'll see where it's hidden! But how can I look without Quirrell realizing what I'm up to? He tried to edge to the left, to get in front of the glass without Quirrell noticing, but the ropes around his ankles were too tight: he tripped and fell over.

Quirrell ignored him. He was still talking to himself.

"What does this mirror do? How does it work? Help me, Master!" And to Harry's horror, a voice answered, and the voice seemed to come from Quirrell himself

"Use the boy... Use the boy... Protect my Kagome..." Quirrell rounded on Harry.

"Yes - Potter - come here." He clapped his hands once, and the ropes binding Harry fell off. Harry got slowly to his feet.

"Come here," Quirrell repeated. "Look in the mirror and tell me what you see."

Harry walked toward him. I must lie, he thought desperately. I must look and lie about what I see, that's all. Quirrell moved close behind him. Harry breathed in the funny smell that seemed to come from Quirrell's turban. He closed his eyes, stepped in front of the mirror, and opened them again. He saw his reflection, pale and scared-looking at first. But a moment later, the reflection smiled at him. Kagome was holding his shoulder reassuringly.

'Harry' put its hand into its pocket and pulled out a blood-red stone. It winked and put the Stone back in its pocket - and as it did so, Harry felt something heavy drop into his real pocket. Somehow - incredibly - he'd gotten the Stone.

"Well?" said Quirrell impatiently. "What do you see?"

Harry screwed up his courage. "I see myself shaking hands with Dumbledore," he invented. "I - I've won the house cup for Gryffindor."

Quirrell cursed again. "Get out of the way," he said.

As Harry moved aside, he felt the Sorcerer's Stone against his leg. Dare he make a break for it? But he hadn't walked five paces before a high voice spoke, though Quirrell wasn't moving his lips. "He lies... He lies..."

"Potter, come back here!" Quirrell shouted. "Tell me the truth! What did you just see?"

The high voice spoke again. "Let me speak to him... face-to-face..."

"Master, you are not strong enough!"

"I have strength enough... for this..."

Harry felt as if Devil's Snare was rooting him to the spot. He couldn't move a muscle. Petrified, he watched as Quirrell reached up and began to unwrap his turban. What was going on? The turban fell away. Quirrell's head looked strangely small without it. Then he turned slowly on the spot. Harry would have screamed, but he couldn't make a sound. Where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a face, the most terrible face Harry had ever seen. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake.

"Harry Potter..." it whispered. Harry tried to take a step backward but his legs wouldn't move.

"See what I have become?" the face said. "Mere shadow and vapor ... I have form only when I can share another's body... but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds... Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks... you saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the forest... and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own... Now... why don't you give me that Stone in your pocket?"

So he knew. The feeling suddenly surged back into Harry's legs. He stumbled backward.

"Don't be a fool," snarled the face. "Better save your own life and join me... or you'll meet the same end as your parents... They died begging me for mercy..."

"LIAR!" Harry shouted suddenly. Quirrell was walking backward at him, so that Voldemort could still see him. The evil face was now smiling.

"How touching..." it hissed. "I always value bravery... Yes, boy, your parents were brave... I killed your father first; and he put up a courageous fight... but your mother needn't have died... she was trying to protect you... Now give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain." "NEVER!" Harry sprang toward the flame door, but Voldemort screamed "SEIZE HIM!" and the next second, Harry felt Quirrell's hand close on his wrist. At once, a needle-sharp pain seared across Harry's scar; his head felt as though it was about to split in two; he yelled, struggling with all his might, and to his surprise, Quirrell let go of him.

The pain in his head lessened - he looked around wildly to see where Quirrell had gone, and saw him hunched in pain, looking at his fingers - they were blistering before his eyes. "Seize him! SEIZE HIM!" shrieked Voldemort again, and Quirrell lunged, knocking Harry clean off his feet' landing on top of him, both hands around Harry's neck - Harry's scar was almost blinding him with pain, yet he could see Quirrell howling in agony. "Master, I cannot hold him - my hands - my hands!" And Quirrell, though pinning Harry to the ground with his knees, let go of his neck and stared, bewildered, at his own palms - Harry could see they looked burned, raw, red, and shiny.

"Then kill him, fool, and be done!" screeched Voldemort.

Quirrell raised his hand to perform a deadly curse, but Harry, by instinct, reached up and grabbed Quirrell's face - "AAAARGH!"

Quirrell rolled off him, his face blistering, too, and then Harry knew: Quirrell couldn't touch his bare skin, not without suffering terrible pain - his only chance was to keep hold of Quirrell, keep him in enough pain to stop him from doing a curse. Harry jumped to his feet, caught Quirrell by the arm, and hung on as tight as he could. Quirrell screamed and tried to throw Harry off - the pain in Harry's head was building - he couldn't see - he could only hear Quirrell's terrible shrieks and Voldemort's yells of, "KILL HIM! KILL HIM!" and Kagome's, maybe in Harry's own head, crying, "Harry! Harry!" He felt Quirrell's arm wrenched from his grasp, knew all was lost, and fell into blackness, down ... down... down... then a soft little bump and all was gone.


	12. Have FUN!

Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was a nice woman, but very strict.

"Where is Kagome?" Harry asked.

"In the office with Dumbledore. She heals extradinoary fast... That girl... Whew."

"Please let me out" Harry pleaded.

"Absolutely not."  
"You let Kagome out..."

"Well, of course, that was fast healing, quite different. You need rest."

"I am resting, look, lying down and everything. Oh, go on, Madam Pomfrey..."

"Oh, very well," she said. "But come back." And she let Harry go.

He went up the stairs to Dumbledore's office.

"Come in."

"Grandpa... AM I REALLY VOLDEMORT'S SON?" Harry bellowed.

"If you were, I'd know." Dumbldeore said.

"Then, Can I stay over in Kagome's house for the summer please? Grandpa?" Harry pleaded.

"Please?" Kagome asked.

"NO! Once you live somewhere else except for Hogwarts and make it home, the spell will be broken. And Kagome and Harry will be killed."

"Oh..." was all the Twins who Lived could force out.

**20 minutes later...**

"Harry! Kagome!"

Hermione looked ready to fling her arms around him again, but Harry was glad she held herself in as his head was still very sore. Kurama was hugging and kissing Kagome, while ROn was grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh, Harry, we were sure you were going to - Dumbledore was so worried -"

"The whole school's talking about it," said Ron.

"What really happened?"

It was one of those rare occasions when the true story is even more strange and exciting than the wild rumors. Harry and Kagome told them everything: Quirrell; the mirror; the Stone; and Voldemort. Ron and Hermione were a very good audience; they gasped in all the right places, and when Harry told them what was under Quirrell's turban, Hermione screamed out loud.

**Flashback**

"So... my little princess has come to join me." the turban hissed.

"AHHHH! IT'S PROFESSOR QUIRREL! DIE!" Kagome screamed, somehow, she was being tortured with the evilness in the mind, and collapsed with bloody wounds appearing from an invisible knife.

"And her little good lover, Kurama." Quirrel flung him around and the two wrestled, Quirrel with wands, and Kurama with that sexy demon strength.

CRACK!

"Sectemsempra!" Quirrel shouted.

It was messed up with another spell, and

BOOM!

Kurama was knocked down, poison in his system...

**End Flashback..**

"So the Stone's gone?" said Ron finally.

"Flamel's just going to die?"

"Kagome's Moldemort's daughter?"

"At the end, Kikyou was actually-"

"That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that - what was it? - 'to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."

"I always said he was off his rocker," said Ron, looking quite impressed at how crazy his hero was

. "So what happened to you two?" said Harry. "Well, I got back all right," said Hermione. "I brought Ron round - that took a while - and we were dashing up to the owlery to contact Dumbledore when we met him in the entrance hall - he already knew - he just said, 'Harry's gone after him, hasn't he?' and hurtled off to the  
third floor."

"D'you think he meant you to do it?" said Ron. "Sending you your father's cloak and everything?"

"Well, " Hermione exploded, "if he did - I mean to say that's terrible - you could have been killed."

"No, it isn't," said Kurama thoughtfully. "He's a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give themm a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don't think it was an accident he let me find out how the mirror worked. It's almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if they could..."

"Yeah, Dumbledore's off his rocker, all right," said Ron proudly. "Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Slytherin won, of course - you missed the last Quidditch match, we were steamrollered by Ravenclaw without you - but the food'll be good."

At that moment, they were in the hallway.

Hagrid sidled through the dining hall door as he spoke. As usual when he was indoors, Hagrid looked too big to be allowed. He sat down next to Harry, took one look at him, and burst into tears. "It's - all - my - ruddy - fault!" he sobbed, his face in his hands. I told the evil git how ter get past Fluffy! I told him! It was the only thing he didn't know, an' I told him! Yeh could've died! All fer a dragon egg! I'll never drink again! I should be chucked out an' made ter live as a Muggle!"

"Hagrid!" said Harry, shocked to see Hagrid shaking with grief and remorse, great tears leaking down into his beard.

"Hagrid, he'd have found out somehow, this is Voldemort we're talking about, he'd have found out even if you hadn't told him."

"Yeh could've died!" sobbed Hagrid. "An' don' say the name!"

"VOLDEMORT!" Harry bellowed, and Hagrid was so shocked, he stopped crying.

"I've met him and I'm calling him by his name. Please cheer up, Hagrid, we saved the Stone, it's gone, he can't use it. Have a Chocolate Frog, I've got loads..."

Hagrid wiped his nose on the back of his hand and said, "That reminds me. I've got yeh a present."

"It's not a stoat sandwich, is it?" said Harry anxiously, and at last Hagrid gave a weak chuckle.

"Nah. Dumbledore gave me the day off yesterday ter fix it. 'Course, he shoulda sacked me instead - anyway, got yeh this..." It seemed to be a handsome, leather-covered book. Harry opened it curiously. It was full of wizard photographs. Smiling and waving at him from every page were his mother and father.

**'Remember, I'M STILL YOUR BLOODY SISTER! SO YOU GOTTA SHARE IT WITH PRINCESS!' Kagome mentally yelled at him, humorously.**

"Sent owls off ter all yer parents' old school friends, askin' fer photos... knew yeh didn' have any... d'yeh like it?"

Harry couldn't speak, but Hagrid understood. Harry made his way down to the end-of-year feast alone that night. Hagrid delayed them, so the Great Hall was already full. It was decked out in the Slytherin colors of green and silver to celebrate Slytherin's winning the house cup for the seventh year in a row. A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table. When Harry walked in there was a sudden hush, and then everybody started talking loudly at once. He slipped into a seat between Kagome, Sesshomaru, Ron, Kurama, and Hermione at the Slyltherin and tried to ignore the fact that people were standing up to look at him, and Slytherins glaring at the Griffinydors.

"You aren't supposed to be here-" Kagura and Kikyou were cut off when...

"Shut up , asshole." Ron said.

" Sit down." Sesshomaru instantly barked as Kagura and Kikyou sat down in the corner, scared.

WHOOSH!

A letter from Inuyasha and Hiei...

_This is the amazing Inuyasha speaking and the loser (scibbled out) Hiei here._

_We've (scibbled into Inuyasha, Hiei only for the rest of the year.) been expelled for punching Malfoy for his ugliness. _

They looked around.

"Uh... Where is Malfoy?"

**At the mental hospital**

" I FREAKING SWEAR! THERE WAS DEMONS! AND THERE WAS-OW! THAT HURTS WAAAAA!"

**Back to reality**

"Yeah... I don't think I need to know anymore."

Fortunately, Dumbledore arrived moments later.

The babble died away. "Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were... you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts... "Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy- two."

A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table. Harry could see Crabbe with an black eye and a sling banging his goblet on the table. It was a sickening sight.

"Yes, Yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account."

The room went very still. The Slytherins' smiles faded a little.

"Ahem," said Dumbledore. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes... "First - to Mr. Ronald Weasley..."

Ron went purple in the face; he looked like a radish with a bad sunburn.

"...for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. Percy could be heard telling the other prefects, "My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set!" At last there was silence again.

"Second - to Miss Hermione Granger... for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points."

Hermione buried her face in her arms; Harry strongly suspected she had burst into tears. Gryffindors up and down the table were beside themselves - they were a hundred points up.

"Third - to Mr. Harry Potter..." said Dumbledore.

The room went deadly quiet for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points."

"Fourth, for Kagome and Kurama, getting their before anyone. I award Gryffindor another hundred points."

The din was deafening. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Gryffindor now had four hundred and seventy-two points - exactly the same as Slytherin. They had tied for the house cup - if only Dumbledore had given Harry just one more point. Dumbledore raised his hand. The room gradually fell silent.

"There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award thirty points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Gryffindor table. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood up to yell and cheer as Neville, white with shock, disappeared under a pile of people hugging him. He had never won so much as a point for Gryffindor before. Harry, still cheering, nudged Ron in the ribs and pointed at Malfoy, who couldn't have looked more stunned and horrified if he'd just had the Body-Bind Curse put on him.

"Which means, Dumbledore called over the storm of applause, for even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were celebrating the downfall of Slytherin, "we need a little change of decoration."

He clapped his hands. In an instant, the green hangings became scarlet and the silver became gold; the huge Slytherin serpent vanished and a towering Gryffindor lion took its place. Snape was shaking Professor McGonagall's hand, with a horrible, forced smile. He caught Harry's eye and Harry knew at once that Snape's feelings toward him hadn't changed one jot. This didn't worry Harry. It seemed as though life would be back to normal next year, or as normal as it ever was at Hogwarts. It was the best evening of Harry's life, better than winning at Quidditch, or Christmas, or knocking out mountain trolls... he would never, ever forget tonight. Harry had almost forgotten that the exam results were still to come, but come they did.

To their great surprise, both he and Ron passed with good marks; Hermione, Kagome, and Kurama, of course, had the best grades of the first years. Even Neville scraped through, his good Herbology mark making up for his abysmal Potions one. They had hoped that Crabbe, who was almost as stupid as he was mean, might be thrown out, but he had passed, too. It was a shame, but as Ron said, you couldn't have everything in life. And suddenly, their wardrobes were empty, their trunks were packed, Neville's toad was found lurking in a corner of the toilets; notes were handed out to all students, warning them not to use magic over the holidays("I always hope they'll forget to give us these," said Fred Weasley sadly); Hagrid was there to take them down to the fleet of boats that sailed across the lake; they were boarding the Hogwarts Express; talking and laughing as the countryside became greener and tidier; eating Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans as they sped past Muggle towns; pulling off their wizard robes and putting on jackets and coats; pulling into platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross Station. It took quite a while for them all to get off the platform.

A wizened old guard was up by the ticket barrier, letting them go through the gate in twos and threes so they didn't attract attention by all bursting out of a solid wall at once and alarming the Muggles.

"You must come and stay this summer," said Ron, "both of you - I'll send you an owl."

"Thanks," said Harry, "I'll need something to look forward to." People jostled them as they moved forward toward the gateway back to the Muggle world. Some of them called:

"Bye, Harry!"

"See you, Potter!"

"Still famous," said Ron, grinning at him.

"Not where I'm going, I promise you," said Harry. He, Ron, and Hermione passed through the gateway together. "There he is, Mom, there he is, look!"

It was Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister, but she wasn't pointing at Ron.

"Harry Potter!" she squealed. "Look, Mom! I can see-"

"Be quiet, Ginny, and it's rude to point." Mrs. Weasley smiled down at them.

"Busy year?" she said. "Very," said Harry. "Thanks for the fudge and the sweater, Mrs. Weasley."

"Oh, it was nothing, dear."

"Ready, are you?" It was Uncle Vernon, still purple-faced, still mustached, still looking furious at the nerve of Harry, carrying an owl in a cage in a station full of ordinary people. Behind him stood Aunt Petunia and Dudley, looking terrified at the very sight of Harry.

"You must be Harry's family!" said Mrs. Weasley. "In a manner of speaking," said Uncle Vernon. "Hurry up, boy, we haven't got all day."

Kagome said.

"Stay safe."

He walked away. Harry hung back for a last word with Ron and Hermione.

"See you over the summer, then."

"Hope you have - er - a good holiday," said Hermione, looking uncertainly after Uncle Vernon, shocked that anyone could be so unpleasant.

"Oh, I will," said Harry, and they were surprised at the grin that was spreading over his face. "They don't know we're not allowed to use magic at home. I'm going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer..."

**THE END**


End file.
